永恆的愛
by WildestHeart4ever
Summary: What if in the series Zutara did happen? changed a few things from a few of the last episodes. The story takes place after the events of "Southern Raiders" til the very ending in "Sozin's Comet" EDITED
1. Chapter 1

**My first ATLA story :D big fan of Zutara,**** unlike my little sister who is a Maiko fan. Just hope this is as good as I think it is…..my little sister Meandcartoon22 thinks it's a waste of time to be doing this story :p always bothering me about how stupid Zutara is or how Katara's a bitch B| but that will not stop me from doing a story of my fave ATLA couple**

**Warning to Meandcartoon22: Don't even think of reviewing this story you little freak…don't go on putting how stupid the story is because you hate the couple either. And if you even consider telling me in person how stupid you think it is…..i sock you in the face you little imp. **

**Hope you guys enjoy)**

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><p>The day was peaceful and silent as the sun was on the verge of setting; the ocean waves were calm as they lapped over the shore and peeking rocks, high above on the cliff tops...stood in place was a tiny campsite where six teens were getting ready to go to sleep….with the exception of the oldest of them seemed to be having a lot going through his mind at the time being.<p>

With a determined look, Zuko walked toward Sokka's tent looking quite nervous to say the least as he neared the blue tent. It's been past a few days since he and Katara came back from confronting the man who killed her mother...and he was more than glad when she had finally forgiven him….and he was very much aware of the new genuine feelings bubbling up not long after.

Reaching the young warrior's tent, Zuko was about to enter until he suddenly remembered the last time he had entered Sokka's tent without warning; he shuddered at the memory and stepped away from the entrance and looked at it for a moment "Sokka?" he called hoping the guy wasn't busy since he had the serious need to talk to his friend about something seemingly very important

"Yeah Zuko?" came Sokka's reply. Zuko took note that the guy sounded a little bit distracted

Zuko scratched the nape of his neck "I need to talk to you, it's important" he said as he absent mindly fixing the gold sash over his red tunic

"Sure, come in" Sokka said

Zuko took this reply to thought...while he comfirmed it was alright to come in, he didn't want to walk in to something disturbingly embarrassing like last time and he just wanted to be prepared "are you decent?" he asked making a weird look on his face

It took Sokka a while to answer back, all Zuko could hear was something scraping from inside Sokka's tent and he was wondering if the water tribesman was remembering that one embarrassing moment as well "yes Zuko, I'm decent" came a reply from inside the tent, sounding quite exasperate

Sighing in relief, Zuko entered the tent to find Sokka sharpening his oh so precious boomerang, Sokka looked up at him for a moment and turned back to his boomerang "so, what is it that you want to talk about?" he asked eyes glued on his working

Zuko sat down and took a deep breath "it's about Katara" at this Sokka looked up at the ex prince in surprise and disbelief...as if his mind was informing him of the wrong assumption

"She still doesn't trust you? I thought she already forgave you when you two came back after finding that Yon Rha guy who killed our mom" he said shaking his head at the thought of his little sister muttering something like 'stubborn sister seriously holds a grudge' as he pinched the bridge of his nose...an action Zuko never seen Sokka use before

"Its not that, she already forgave me" He said sounding quite content of such. It was until a blush slowly appeared on his pale face as he rubbed the back of his neck obviously uncomfortable with how the conversation was going "more ways than one" he muttered quietly to himself

"Oh" Sokka and relaxed a little knowing things were going well with the young fire bender and his little sister "then what is it?" he asked looking down at his boomerang before sharpening it again

"I want your permission to court your sister" he said and Sokka suddenly stopped on mid stroke when the words reached him and looked at Zuko with a new expression, it wasn't friendly surely the protective brother glare and it held a death promise in his penetrating glare

Sokka straitened up and looked at Zuko "you're interested in my little sister?" he asked with an arched eyebrow, Zuko kind of wondered if Sokka ever dealt with guys interested in Katara before….he took things harshly when it came to guys taking liking in her. Now it was then he noticed Sokka was still looking at him expectantly with the same stare "since when?" he added sounding merely interested and suspicious

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a moment in fact, he wasn't sure how long he been interested in her and blushed "I'm not exactly sure how long I was interested in her" he replied and Sokka made a look as if wondering if Zuko actually was attracted to her BEFORE they became part of the same team

"And shes interested in you?" he asked standing up with boomerang in hand as he walked casually around Zuko yet actually blocking the exit

Zuko seeing this thought it better to stand up and saw Sokka leaning against the rock wall, boomerang in hand and sword by the entrance; he rubbed the back of his neck when a goofy smile suddenly appeared on his pale face the more he thought of the object of his current affections "I think she proved that more than once before" it was a surprise for Sokka to see such a goofy look on Zuko's face when most of the time it was stoic and calm

Then another thought acured to Sokka, remembering just how the two benders making excuses and going to do something lately the past few days; he eyed his friend with a suspicious look "have you two…." trailing off with a suggestive look

Upon realization to what the warrior meant, the ex prince's face turned beet red and his good eye widen slightly "what! No, I we never..." he sputtered looking completely flustered and embarrassed

"Relax; no need to get all jumpy" Sokka said motioning his friend to calm down "jeez, Toph wasn't joking when she said you would get defensive and skittish with interrogations" picking a tiny speck of dirt off his boomerang and looked back at Zuko with an arched eyebrow "I was just making sure alright? Most guys that liked Katara weren't exactly the most trusting or respectful to say the least" he said looking serious

"So I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you have to answer with the first thing that comes in mind" he continued before thinking for a moment and then glared at Zuko "and answer truthfully. I want to know for sure your serious about your intentions for her" he added

Zuko stood there for a moment staring at Sokka like he was out of his mind, if he wanted to question his reasons then let him "you have my word" he replied as he held his hand up, if Sokka was gonna be taking his role as older brother seriously…..then Zuko would just have to endure the questions…..cause heck Sokka was practically the only barrier between him and dating Katara….besides Aang

Sokka walked around Zuko eyeing the banished prince until the first question in his mind popped out of his mouth "would you do anything to make her happy?" it was a simple question and Zuko thought Sokka would just ask the typical questions to find relief that his sister would be taken care of

"Yes" Zuko replied crossing his arms over his chest and turned his head to see Sokka nod his head in approval

"Will you do anything in your power to keep her safe, despite the fact that she can take care of herself?" pointing at the older teen with wide blue suspicious eyes

"Yes"

Sokka seemed satisfied as he rubbed his chin. But if he was going to be responsible of who his little sister dated in their dad's absense...he would have to do alot better "will you ever hurt her?"

"Never"

Mentally sighing in relief at this reassuring thought "Will you risk your own life to save hers?" Sokka asked and waited for the reply looking at Zuko for any signs of anxiety

"Yes" he replied giving Sokka a serious look, the guy had to take the hint that he would do anything for Katara. That he was ready to risk anything for the sake of her health and happiness

And by speeding the questions like crazy he decided that maybe Zuko was just to concentrated on answering to never bother what he was answering "will you do whatever Sokka tells you to do?" he asked with a dopey grin on his face as he anticipated the firebender's response

"Ye Sokka!" Zuko glared at him as the water tribesman simply shrugged

"It was worth a shot" Sokka said and crossed his arms over his lean chest and stared at Zuko for a moment before letting out a reluctant sigh "as long as shes happy, I don't see the big deal about it" and held out his hand grasping Zuko's pale arm in a typical water tribe's greeting, he really wanted his little sister to be happy and there was no doubt of his trust on Zuko but he will be prepared if Zuko ever did anything to make her upset

Glad that he finally got Sokka's consent, Zuko turned to leave the tent until he once again heard Sokka speak up "I'm sure you won't be worried about this, but" and turned to see the teen glaring at him pointing his boomerang at the ex prince "if you ever hurt my sister, you and I are gonna have a problem" and cringed at the threatening look the guy gave him, sure he didn't see Sokka as a threat but the glare almost reminded him of the time of Katara's threat.

He walked out of the tent and walked away...currently deep in thought of the whole event; upon seeing Toph and Suki sitting by the fire, he was surprised to find them still awake but none the less ignored them as he walked passed them...stopping when Suki spoke to him on her place by the fire pit "so how was your talk with Sokka?" Suki asked smiling when she noticed him cringe "he didn't give you a hard time did he?" she added smirking at her friend

Zuko relatively didn't like people getting in his business, and he never really given a thought of his and Katara's 'subtle' relationship... that the two girls were aware of it was a failure on their part. But should he ignore them, should he snap? Should he pretend he had no clue what they were talking about? Instead he took deep breaths and slumped his shoulders "it wasn't that bad, I got his approval" he admitted as he looked around the camp for any signs of the young monk...sighing in relief to see the kid asleep on Appa not far away

"That's great Sparky" Toph said picking her toes while Momo sat perched comfortably on her shoulder. She smirked as she stared at the firebender who resumed to start walking away "now all you need is Hakoda's approval" and her smirk widen upon 'seeing' Zuko stop suddenly in his tracks for a moment before continuing his way ignoring the giggles coming from the two girls

He walked casually in front of a certain tent looking around for any witness around...albeit unaware of the tan hand peeking from the tent flap grabbing a hold of his tunic and with a surprised yelp, Zuko was pulled into the tent.

Looking up, he was able to register what happened and felt a sudden weight rest comfortably on top of him. He looked up to see Katara straddling his waist with a smile on her tan face, blue eyes sparkling with unconcealed excitment "so what did he say?" she asked looking at him smile still plastered on her face making him smile back...he just couldn't stop smiling with her around

He leaned up on his elbows and gave her a smirk as he shook his head in amusement "he was actually okay with it, if I don't say it gave me another opinion of his strange ways" he said looking amused and chuckled when she smacked him on the arm

"That's great" Katara said smiling as she traced her fingers over the burned skin on his face, he didn't mind her touching it….so far he only allowed her to touch it, besides Toph…but that was only one time because the kid was unaware of the scarring on his face...she had been another exception then

"Now the only one in the team that doesn't know about our relationship is"

"Aang" Katara cut in. Suddenly quite as a worried look replaced happiness on her tan face, absent mindly fiddling with the gold sash of his tunic; sitting up, Zuko grabbed her hands and looked at her as he rubbed her arm in comfort

"We could always tell him tomorrow" he suggested watching her as she chewed her bottom lip in concentration...suddenly facinated with fingering his lips

"He's got a lot in his mind right now" Katara said even then not sounding so convinced of her own words "he has been worrying over how to defeat the Fire Lord recently and we both know about his feelings for me, don't you think telling him this will give him some issues?" even then he knew she was doubting herself, he didn't know how long she planned to tell the kid….was she expecting to tell the Avatar until this war was over or something!

"Katara, I know he has the same feelings that I have for you" he said sitting up prying her off his lap and gave her a serious look "but he has the right to know, and I don't want to go on keeping our relationship a secret because you're afraid of what it might do to him" he added as he laid on his back looking at her to say patiently something against it and saw the defeated look on her face

Katara sighed and knew Zuko did have a point….he always seemed to know what to say that made him seem right in whatever they spoke about "I'll tell him when I can" knowing well Aang's schedule was rather too busy for the usual chats and goofing around as he was busy training Fire, Water and Earth bending….and there was rarely times when she and Aang would be alone to have private conversations

She noticed he still held the brooding look on his pale face as he eyed her, she crawled toward him and kissed his cheek and nuzzled his neck noticing his mouth forming a small smile. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when his lips pressed against hers preventing her from uttering a word, Katara gladly returned the affectionate gesture

He sat up and placed his hand on her waist deepening the kiss, she curled her fist in his dark hair….she felt heat overwhelm her and figured it was coming from Zuko considering how extremely warm his body always is…..being the firebender that he is

They were still in their passionate embrace until they suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from outside the tent "would you two lovebirds settle down already? I can feel your erratic heart beats that it won't let me sleep" Toph said sounding rather annoyed to be awoken from her sleep

With flushed faces, Zuko and Katara looked embarrassed. And Toph not getting any response from the older teens and sensing the peaceful quiet of their settling heartbeats "thank you" and with that Toph returned to her rock tent

After a long moment in silence, he let out a long sigh and sat up "well I guess I should go back to my tent" he said placing a soft kiss on her cheek before getting up and walked toward the exit "G'night" he bidded as he pulled open to flap of the entrance

Katara didn't think twice as she opened her mouth "you can stay, you know?" she said and silently cursed at how she spoke without thinking, she looked at his red flushed face as he stared at her for a moment...as if trying to register what she just said "if you want" she added feeling the heat of the blush on her tan face as she looked at him with shyness. Nervously fingering her long dark hair

His blush was obvious through his pale skin as he looked at her. Surely she never asked this kind of thing before….sure they have laid down and cuddled together when sneaking away from the others and held each other, but they never went as far by sleeping together in the same place "you sure?" he asked looking at her with his good eye wide open

Katara thought about the possibilities of someone walking in her tent in the morning and reconsidered, no one entered her tent, and it was rather cold tonight. She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head in response, what was the harm anyway? He was her boyfriend after all…..Sokka shared his tent with Suki, so why can't she with Zuko?

Zuko took a deep breath and walked back toward her. Lyed down on his previous spot as he tried keeping a small distance between them...only for her to close in on him as she curled up next to him and with a content sigh; she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to his warm body

He looked at her for a moment feeling slightly stiff and uncomfortable at how close she was...and after a moment of getting used to it, sighed and relaxed his body...giving her a small peck on the lips and felt her run her fingers over his jaw, he slowly pushed her on her back and placed a hand on her waist running his thumb in small circles on her stomach...earning a sigh from the girl underneath him.

She ran her fingers through his dark hair gripping it lightly making him groan and deepen the kiss. A large pale hand ran down her thigh as he bit and pulled her bottom lip...elicting another moan from her, giving him the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth,

Katara pressed her body against his and upon realizing where this was going….Zuko pulled away from the kiss breathing hard and looked down at her flushed face "we should go to sleep" he said running his tongue on his lips for a moment and saw her nod in agreement face still slightly flushed

She accommodated herself as she curled up by his side gripping his tunic and closed her eyes sighing in contentment, Zuko wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his cheek on the top of her head closing his eyes soon after.

~0~O0o0~0~

Zuko opened his eyes to see it was still dark...but sub-consciously sensing that the sun would rise soon enough He felt something warm and soft curled on his side and he looked down to find Katara nestled in his arms with her head resting comfortably on his chest. He smiled as he looked at her sleeping form taking in every detail while he could...her soft dark skin, those sweet soft lips that he couldn't seem to resist lately, that cute birth mark resting underneath her ear, and those closed lids that revealed beautiful blue eyes

He didn't know what he did to gain to affections of this amazing girl, but he will promise himself that he will never again do her any wrong and break her heart that she had so trustingly placed in his possession

Getting up with the comforting thought, he pulled on his boots which he didn't remember taking off and with one last back glance at his sleeping girlfriend….he left the tent.

Aang sat up yawning, stretching his muscles with a lazy sigh. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Aang looked around the campsite noticing that it was already morning. Momo who had been sleeping next to him at the moment…jumped on the kid's shoulder prepared for the eventful day ahead

Getting up, Aang jumped swiftly off Appa's head and decided it would seem like a good time to start firebending training with Zuko. His thoughts only came to stop short in its tracks as he looked around the campsite...realizing emediantly that Zuko wasn't anywhere to be seen, it seemed funny to Aang the brooding guy was usually the first to wake up

Scratching his bald head as he re-looked the campsite with confusion written on his light face "where is he?" he wondered and his gray eyes stopped at the sight of Zuko's tent "maybe hes still asleep" he suggested to Momo as he walked toward the tent with a smile on his face

Opening the flap to the entrance "hey Zu…" he trailed off when he caught sight of no ex prince; the tent was empty with the exception of Zuko's bag and Dao swords "ko….not here I guess" with a shrug, he walked away and saw Sokka sitting by the burned down campfire cleaning his sword. He slowly walked up to the guy "hey Sokka, have you seen Zuko?" he had clearly caught the warrior by surprise...when he watched his friend yelp and almost dropped his sword before catching it

Sokka glared at the monk for startling him and muttered "don't do that" he said and sheathed his sword

Rubbing the back of his neck "sorry" Aang said smiling sheepishly, knowing that Katara would most likely come out soon to make breakfast, he set a fire "well have you?" asking about the previous as Momo sat on his bald head staring at the water tribe warrior as well

Sokka thought for a moment and realized no...he hasn't seen the guy since last night when they were talking about Zuko courting Katara. Shuddering at the unwanted memory "nope, haven't seen him" and watched as Aang sighed in exasperation and near disappointment "ask Katara, maybe shes seen him" he suggested...rolling his blue eyes at seeing the kids face brighten up. It was a pretty large clearing anyway, where could the guy be? Its not like Zuko slept the night in Katara's tent…his face paled at the thought and was about to stop Aang only to see the kid already heading to the said tent.

Zuko cracked his neck and flexed his arms as he walked his way back toward the camp, after a long time of work out and meditating; though he always enjoyed spending his time with Katara, he would also enjoy the times when there was peace and quiet

The first thing that met his gold eyes had sparked mediate annoyance, seeing Aang walk toward Katara's tent practically had Zuko seething and feeling territorial over what was his. Following Aang, his good eye twitched when the kid reached out and was about to open the flap of her tent before he spoke up "what are you doing?" he asked trying to remain calm as he remembered WHO he was dealing with

Upon hearing Zuko's voice, Momo screeched as Aang jumped and whirled around sighing in relief upon seeing him "I was going to ask Katara if she seen you, that's all" he replied looking at the fire bender curiously wondering why steam was coming out of his nose….Momo seeming to be aware of the fire bender's mood…hid in Aang's shirt peeking over the kid's shoulder at the disgruntled young man

"Well, here I am. What do you want?" Aang guessed it was one of those days where Zuko would wake up in a bad mood; Zuko looked at the bald kid impatiently as he calmed his rising temper and sense of possessiveness over Katara

"I was just wondering if we could starting training fire bending" now that he found Zuko in a unpleasant mood reasons unknown to him he was reconsidering the idea. It was never a good idea to train with an angry Zuko, he winced at the sudden memory popping up

"After breakfast, then we will start our training" Zuko walked past Aang and eyed the kid who was still standing by Katara's tent with a look that wasn't friendly. Aang thinking that it was best to follow went after him.

Everyone sat gathered around the fire pit as they peacefully eating breakfast "sorry it took me awhile to make breakfast guys, I didn't sleep that well last night" Katara said popping another piece of komodo chicken into her mouth a small blush appeared on her tan face as she sat between Zuko and Aang, apparently she and Zuko had passed most of the night talking and maybe a bit to much kissing

"Jeez I wonder why" Toph said sending a glare at Zuko and Katara whose faces were blushing as she flicked a small fruit in Momo's direction, Sokka took a moment to comprehend the comment and upon realizing send a murderous glare at the ex prince who was shifting uncomfortably under their stares, Aang spirits bless his naive mind only fully understood the part of Katara getting lack of sleep

"Well that's okay" he said smiling at her as she simply smiled back hesitantly, clearly noticing the lack of change in Aang...Suki sent the couple a look that clearly read 'you haven't told him yet?' and Katara looked down at her plate ignoring the looks she and Zuko were getting

She looked at Aang for a while and opened her mouth to speak but apparently to her misfortune Sokka beat her to that task "we need to think of a new place to hide out" he said pulling out a map and placing out before him "we can't just stay here the whole time in the wide open plane, sooner or later Zuko's crazy sister could find us" sending Zuko a meek look...as if thinking that insulting his sister bothered him...quite frankly it didn't

"Well, where are we gonna go?" Toph asked picking her toes...much to everyone's chagrin and displeasure "we can't exactly find a place where someone won't want to butcher us and Aang" she added as she lay back crossing her legs

Zuko thought for moment about the safety and conditions of his families beach house, no one in his deranged family went there anymore….and it was pretty much isolated from the town citizens "how about Ember Island?" he asked randomly, he watched patiently as Sokka put a thoughtful look as he exam-ed the map before him

"Ain't that in the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked looking down the map, resting his chin on his fist

"It's a pretty safe place, there's an abandon beach house where my family used to go" he said and watched as Sokka scratched his chin a moment thinking "and it's a safe isolated distance from the town" Zuko added

Sokka tapped his fingers together and noticed the rest of the group were looking at him with expectation, he let a disgruntled sigh pass his lips '_sometimes being the map guy sucks'_ he thought to himself "well we don't have anywhere else to go, as long as it's safe" he said making a dismissing gesture and clasped his hands together "let's get packing" he added standing and left the circle….only coming back moments to retrieve his unfinished breakfast.

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><p>It was already the afternoon by the time everything was almost done and packed up to go; the tents were already put down, personal belongings packed, cooking utilities, etc. All storage in Appa's saddle<p>

At the moment everyone was loading their things on Appa and getting ready to go, Aang was fixing the reins tied to Appa's horns, Zuko was loading his and Katara's stuff as she settled the pots and food they had until they saw Suki walking up to them with a confused look on her face "you guys haven't told him yet?" she asked whispering seeing that Aang was nearby. She looked on as Zuko jumped off the saddle... landing steady on his feet in front of her

Katara was straightening her tunic and looked sheepish when she looked at her friend "I tried, but it always ends up with Aang running off somewhere either fooling with Momo or talking to Sokka about the plan" she said pulling at her hair speaking quietly as she glanced at Aang who upon seeing her put a smile on his face

Suki looked at Zuko expecting his answer "we were busy training" he replied scratching the back of his neck avoiding the two girls stares

Although it was clearly none of her business to interfere in their relationship, Suki knew pretty darn well the strong feelings the young monk felt for Katara it was quite obvious in fact and knew if they didn't tell him anything sooner or later, or if he ever found out about it on his own. Things would get a little tense between Zuko and Aang…..and perhaps the whole Gaang

"You're gonna tell him soon, right?" she asked watching as Aang rubbed Appa's forehead from the corner of her eye, she felt a bit relieved to see them nod in response "alright then, Katara there is a couple sacks of food left for packing….can you give me a hand?" Suki asked looking at the couple

"Sure" Katara replied and went to follow Suki; Zuko watched as she walked away and trailed his golden eyes over her figure, a smirk appearing on his face as he felt the swell of male pride at the thought knowing that she was all his and his alone. He couldn't compare her to Mai….sure his ex girlfriend was rather pretty and sometimes there was moments when she was acting sweet….yet it couldn't compare to Katara

The sound of someone clearing his throat broke Zuko from his thoughts and saw Sokka with his arms crossed...giving him a look that said he wasn't pleased by the way Zuko had been leering at his little sister "what?" Zuko asked feigning innocent. His response was Sokka pointed two fingers at his blue eyes and then pointed a finger at the firebender giving him the 'I'm watching you' sign before resuming his way towards Appa

Zuko turned to see Toph looking at his direction with an arched eyebrow and a smirk plastered on her pale face "nice save Sparky" punching him on his arm as she passed getting on Appa as well with Aang's help, Zuko seriously hoped the kid hadn't noticed the intent stare and relaxed when he saw the kid goofing around with Sokka….he took a deep breath before climbing on Appa.

* * *

><p>Zuko mused over the idea of being surrounded by a mass of clouds as he lead Appa to their next destination. Listening to Sokka talk about something of how quiet it should have been the last time the were hiding in a mass of cloud, moments later heard Toph make a snarky reply on how it would be even more quiet if he kept his mouth shut….there was babbling coming from the warrior who felt undignified by the comment<p>

He looked back at the others behind him sitting on the saddle and watched Katara's graceful movements as she kept the cloud formed, what bothered him somewhat was the arrow boy kneeling next to her as he helped her….all the while smiling that goofy smile of his at her

Zuko made a ticking noise with his tongue as he looked back ahead of him with a glare on his pale face. Surely he would always be the kind of guy who became easily jealous of seeing his girl with another guy….and it bothered him a bit to see Katara with a kid who was in love with her what a lie! It ticked him off completely but could he do anything about it? No, he couldn't….last time he tried that, he got into a fight with Mai

Toph seemed to sense the glares Zuko has been sending Aang though out the flight, a smirk appeared on her pale face at the kid's carelessness '_poor fool, doesn't know someones burning hole into him'_ she thought as the smirk on her face widen as she laid back against the saddle enjoying the silence.

~0~O0o0~0~

The flight was silent with the exception of the occasional murmuring commenting of the war plan and what they would do once they reached the beach; it was near dusk by the time Zuko had landed Appa by the house, leaving the bison in hands of Sokka to settle him as the others unpacked their things

Once everything was unloaded, Aang decided that he'd stay with Appa for a while and find a nice spot for the animal to rest while the others went ahead to the house. Zuko seemed to notice the others were quite relaxed...but even he was still able to notice the weariness and cautions of being in fire nation territory

It was Katara that seemed the most worried…always taking quick glances around every which bush, rock and tree they passed, it was then she finally speak her worries "are you sure she was cut off when Zuko spoke

"Yes this place is isolated from the town" he assured her as he looked down at her

"And no one"

"No, its private propriety…no one would come here" he said looking ahead

"And you sure"

"Yes, my messed up family hasn't come here for years and I'm sure they won't come back again" he said plucking a fire lily from a nearby bush, twirling it in his fingers for a moment and added "its safe" and offering the red flower to her and smiled when she accepted it

The other three seemed to be amused to see Katara's worry simply taken care of, Sokka was trying his best not to snort with mirth over the fact that Zuko would simply interrupt Katara so easily to cease her worry….Suki simply found it kind of cute that Zuko knew what his girlfriend was gonna say…..Toph? She found it as entertainment and was even snacking on Aang's small food sack handing Momo a small fruit once in a while as she 'watched'.

After Zuko had showed the Gaang their rooms and let everyone settle down and explore the house, he left Katara for last on showing her the room she would stay in.

She wasn't used to sleeping in a fairly large fancy like rooms like this; it was quite big and had a balcony with a view of the ocean, a large canopy bed and a vanity, and a shoji screen stood not far from the vanity

After taking everything in, she turned to look at Zuko, who stood leaning against the doorframe with a smile on his face as he watched her move around "may I ask where you're going to sleep?" she asked noticing he had settled his bag next to the door and was fairly suspicious... wondering if he had planned to share the room with her

"I'm staying in the room next to yours" he replied jerking his to the left. She nodded in agreement and had remembered noticing yet another room at the end of the hall

"Have you planned this?" she asked placing her hands on her hips as a smirk appeared on her tan face "to have an easier way to sneak into my room without getting caught?" she added and raised an eyebrow as she expected an answer from him

There was no reason to sneak around anymore, but yet she wasn't aware of where the room Aang would sleep in was located...as she had been busy looking around the main foyer while Zuko had lead the Avatar away…..and the poor kid was still in the dark about the whole thing about their relationship

A small blush was transparent on his pale face...but quickly faded as he then tilted his head "I assure you that I wasn't thinking of such" the smirk on his face told her other wise. She watched him as a tiny flame engulfed his finger as he lit up the lights around them...brightening up the room a bit "but surely you've been thinking about it a while, am I correct?" he adds and smirked as he watched her face heated up with a blush...she was thankful for the dim light and her dark skin

She just smiled coyly in response "I'm just worried about how Sokka might react….finding out his little sister's boyfriend has been sneaking into her room at night" it was then his happiness morphed into a serious look…he knew well what she meant behind those words…and it was clear she wasn't worried about her brother...but she was worried about Aang, it bothered him that HIS girlfriend couldn't stop worrying about the kid

It took her a moment to register that she was being pressed against the wall near the exit leading to the balcony, the look in his golden eyes showed clear that he was getting possessive and his patience with Aang was dropping a notch. It was then he claimed her lips, she stood there in shock before slowly closing her eyes and responded to his rough kiss...wrapping her arms around his neck as she tilted her head

She could hear him between each kiss he gave and could make out the word 'mine'.…it was then her ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps and knew by the lightness of them that they belonged to Aang….and he was heading their way.

Out of the sheer panic of being caught in their passionate embrace, Katara formed a water whip and aimed it at Zuko and watched in shock as her boyfriend flew across the room landing by the other side of the spacey room

The sound of his grunt and a cursed word was rather low as Aang appeared at the door with a excited smile on his face "hey Katara, I was wondering if you wanted to head to the beach and practice water bending?" she took a look at the boy and noticed he was already dressed in his fire nation clothes...giving her a good excuse to use to get rid of him, she was relieved that he was unaware of the hidden presence in her room

"I think I should get dressed in my fire nation clothes" she said as she brushed back stray hairs from her face and quickly added "and I have to make dinner soon after…you know how Sokka is" Katara said and saw his disappointed look "maybe tomorrow?" smiling in relief when she saw his face lit up emediantly with a wide smile on his face

"Sure, see you outside" and it was then he went sprinting off down the hall perhaps going off to find Toph she felt guilty for hiding secrets from him….letting him think that things between them were what he thought as a developing relationship, when in reality she was already developing one with Zuko

When Katara turned around she nearly yelped in surprise at seeing Zuko standing in front of her drenched in water she hadn't realized how much water she used on the whip and he was giving her a look that clearly said he wasn't a tad bit pleased by her actions; she water bended the water from his drenched body and enclosed it in her pouch leaving Zuko dry

Instead of saying anything right away, Zuko headed outside on the balcony "that was a perfect time to tell him about us, you know?" she heard him speak from the balcony as she opened her bag and took out her fire nation clothes "I could tell him myself, but then he would probably go all Avatar state on me" he added, she heard the tisking noise he made with his tongue as she started undoing her belt

One thing she well aware of…..was that Zuko wasn't a patient person, and frankly the patience he once had was slowly waning. She couldn't help it if she tried to avoid telling Aang the truth…..she cared to much about his feelings and telling him something like this would undoubtly leave him heartbroken and perhaps feel sudden hatred toward the ex prince

She made her way toward the solitary standing shoji screen to get out of his view and started removing her blue tunic. Zuko was looking out the ocean until he heard the soft rustling noise of fabric hitting the ground, he wasn't sure if he should turn around or leave….he had to much honor and respect for his own good to just violate a girl's privacy, he cleared his throat awkwardly as he scratched the nape of his neck...suddenly feeling his skin heat up

"So is there any markets nearby?" her voice made him turn his head and he saw her hang her tunic and dark blue pants on the screen, he turned away quickly when he caught glimpse of her shadowed form behind the screen and cleared his throat turning back to look at the ocean…..he definitely didn't want to let her know that he had looked at her and how it affected him

Clearing his throat he pushed his hair away from his face...and let a small flame pass his lips as the dark locks fell over his eyes "yeah, why you need something from town?" he asked arching his only eyebrow

"No, I just want to make sure so incase were out of food….we can go get more" she replied, he heard her move around and wasn't sure if it was safe or not to turn around "what do you think?" he heard her ask sounding suddenly shy, he turned around and was suddenly left speechless….red DEFINITELY looked good on her

He gulped and pulled at his shirt collar suddenly feeling a little too warm "wow" was the only thing he could say as he eyed her Fire nation outfit

Katara blushed seemingly pleased by his reaction "why thank you" she said pulling at her hair and walked up to him grabbing his pale hand "can't stand here all day, my brother will probably be wondering why I hadn't started making dinner yet" she said dragging him along down the hall….'wow' was the only thing he was able to say as she lead him down to the main room.

The night was like the usual, Sokka made his pathetic funny jokes, Toph made her witty remarks about them once in a while, Aang mentioned some wild adventures he went through 100 years ago….the usual

Aang didn't notice anything unusual about the couple…and quite frankly Katara was beginning to wonder if the kid was clueless to see the fact that she and Zuko had hung back for the ex prince to take her on a tour of the whole house after dinner. Aang probably thought they were just spending the time bonding and growing a stronger friendship.

Zuko walked Katara to her room after then "and I already introduced you to your room" he said leaning against the wall next to her door

Katara looked around her and smiled "it's a really nice house" she commented smiling up at him, she couldn't help duck her head under the intense gaze "goodnight" Katara murmured brushing a strand a dark hair from her tan face

Zuko smirked noticing the faint blush "G'night" he whispered and cupped her face with both hands before leaning in and pressed his lips against hers, she placed her hands on his elbows and sighed when he bit her lip opening up as his tongue slipped through teasing her. This was far different from the kiss she and Aang had shared, when he had first kissed her…it was a innocent rather awkward sweet kiss

Before she could ponder about the heated kiss she was sharing with Zuko, he pulled away leaving a dazed Katara….chuckling at the heated look on her face, he brushed a loose strand of dark hair from her face and smiled down at her "see ya" he said before heading to his room.

* * *

><p>Mostly everyone was excited– minus Zuko and partially Katara about going to watch the play, Katara was slightly weary about having themselves exposed but Sokka had insisted that they should at least take a break and see how these actors had portrayed them.<p>

Just about when Aang decided to sit next to Katara…Zuko took his place at the last moment, feeling a bit possessive at the moment "hey, uh….I wanted to sit.." he hesitated for a moment, pointing at where Zuko was sitting as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly...he wasn't going to say his reasons, and he really didn't understand why Zuko was interfering "there" he finished clutching his hands together

Zuko lowered his hood and gave Aang a look that said it wasn't exactly pleased by the ordeal, like hell he was going to let the little monk sit next to his girlfriend "just sit next to me, what's the big deal?" he said sporting same stoic look on his pale face as he looked at the bald kid

"I was" he trailed off looking at Katara's direction for a moment and then looked at the stage "just…I wanted to" he sighed in defeat and sat next to Zuko "okay" he sighed in defeat pulling his hat lower

At the corner of his eye, Zuko noticed Katara look at him with an arched eyebrow silently as if asking about what had just happened….he simply smirked at her and gave her hand a small squeeze, the look in his gold eyes clearly held the not so subtle claim on her, Katara knew well what he was silently proclaiming and simply rolled her blue eyes in response before looking back at the stage.

They were horrified by the portrayle of their own characters, it was disturbing by a fact the playwright had put an actress for Aang's character and Katara just couldn't believe how emotional and whorish they portrayed her character…..and Sokka was insulted to think that they saw him as a hungry moron with lack of humor.

Right at the current moment they were watching the scene where they meet Jet. They never thought or considered that Zuko had once back then met the Freedom fighter, but by the annoyed look on his pale face….told them Zuko didn't seem pleased to see the character.

Actor Jet held actress Katara close to him as she cried obnoxiously in his shirt "don't cry, baby" he said tilting her chin up "Jet will wipe out this nasty town" he added pointing at the stage and looks back at her "for you" the platform their standing on rises as 'the river' comes across the stage

Actress Katara looked up at 'Jet' with a seductive look "oh Jet, you're so bad" she said in a seductive voice as she clinged to him, they weren't sure if they heard correctly but they swore they heard 'Jet' growl before dipping his head and passionately kissing her

Toph was cackling like mad at what she just heard...not quite believing one bit Katara to be like that, Sokka looked disturbed beyond belief at the event that never happened, making Suki take course to cover his eyes and prevent him from any further disturbance.

Katara held her head embarrassed by the scene that never happened, she took a chance to look up and winced when she noticed Zuko giving her a look that said that better have not happened….she simply smiled meekly before looking away from his heated stare and tugged at her hair as she looked back at the stage to avoid his intense stare.

~o0o~

They were more disturbed by the scene of the siege in the North Pole, only with the sole exception that Sokka was getting rather weepy by the heartbreaking memories of losing Yue…..

Actress 'Aang' came swooping in 'destroying' the fire Nation army and laughing all the while she was at it "the Avatar is back to save the day! Yay" she cheered laughing with glee as she kicked more of the 'ships', falling on her stomach in the process. It was then the curtains had lowered much to the Gaangs relief with the exception of Toph who was applauding along with the rest of the entire audience, Katara looked beyond bewildered as Zuko pulled on his hood and Aang groaned as he throws his entire body forward….Sokka looked entirely displeased.

~o0o~

They were outside sitting on the steps to the balcony, everyone seemed to be brooding over the bad work on their characters. Toph seemed to be enjoying the show as it is, as she seemed highly amused and fascinated by the adventures they had before meeting her "so far, this intermission is the best part of the play" Zuko said running his fingers through his dark hair and let out a sigh as Katara leaned against him

Sokka walked down the stairs holding a paper bag filled with meat in his grasp as Suki looked up at him with an amused look on her face...despite her disappointing over the play "apparently, the playwright thinks I'm an idiot" Sokka said sitting down next to Suki as he reached into the bag of food "who tells bad jokes about meat all the time" he added taking out a strip of meat

Suki arches her eyebrow at this and smirks "yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics" she said smirking as she rest her chin on her hand watching as he snapped at the strip of meat chewing angrily

Swallowing the piece of meat and pretty much obvious to the hidden insult his girlfriend had just given "I know!" he exclaimed biting again another chunk of meat

Aang looked pretty displeased by the performance of his character, not bothering to ponder of the close gap between Zuko and Katara "at least this Sokka actor looks like you" he said perched on his spot at the bottom of the stairs as Toph looked down at his direction with a smirk on her pale face "that woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all" he added pulling his hat lower as a scowl appeared on his childish face

Toph arched a dark eyebrow as the smirk on her face broaden "I don't know, you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys" she said crossing her arms over her chest, the monk stood up...an annoyed huff escaping his lips

Katara was absently playing with Zuko's hair until she turned to look at Aang's direction with a reassuring look "relax, Aang" she assured him as he turned to look at her "they're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm" she placed a hand on her chest "a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time" she added and then noticed the skeptical looks they were all directing at her…even Zuko was giving her the same look "what?" she asked looking at them with a questioning look. They didn't believe she was being portrayed correctly, could they?

Apparently Aang was the first to reply after the awkward silence "yeah." He uttered as he sat back down "that's not you at all" he finished leaning forward

Toph rolled her blurry green eyes at their moody behavior, it was really ruining her fun on the situation "listen, friends. It's obvious that the playwright did his research. I know it must hurt but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth" she said crossing her arms over her chest.

The next part got them laughing and Zuko shocked enough to drop the parchment he was holding in his hands when they discovered the Toph character turned out to be a tall burly man, much to every ones shock and bafflement Toph looked extremely happy about the work on her character. She took the gender swap far better than Aang did and she loved every moment of it much to the others wonder as to why...

"So, you're blind?" 'Aang' asked as she pointed at the tall buff man, sporting a curios look on her face and waved a hand in front of his face making him suddenly laugh

"I can see you doing that" he said pointing at 'Aang' with an amused smirk on his dark face "I see everything that you see except that I don't see like you do. I release a sonic wave from my mouth" 'Toph' said smirk on his tan face broadening

He turned to the trio and screamed making them lean away, the noise seemed strong enough to send their clothes fluttering by the vibration. The audience cringed at the noise as well as the Gaang...with the exception for Toph who just looked on happily and impressed

'Toph' stopped screaming, leaving the trio looking impressed and rumpled "there. I got a pretty good look at you" he said smiling in satisfaction. The audience applauded and Toph despite not being able to see a thing that was going on, clapped fervently herself with a freaky grin on her pale face as the other teens calmly clapped in contrast to the young girl's.

0~o0o~0

They group watched in dread as the play went on. As far as they all noticed, the playwright made them complete morons losing to every single battle they had engaged in, it was either of stupidity or whatever nonsense. Zuko was even surprised and curios to wonder if Jet had actually been killed in some point….the Gaang didn't even know themselves for sure if the Freedom fighter survived or not.

Zuko and Katara were both a little weary when the scene in the crystal catacombs showed up; it wasn't the best memory at all for the couple, as it was a constant reminder of his betrayal. They were even worried that the playwright might warp this scene into something else entirely, like every other scene they have seen so far.

The actress 'Katara' and actor 'Zuko' sat alone in the quite catacombs. 'Katara' was looking at 'Zuko' with a bit too much interest, Katara was not anticipating how flirtatious the playwright might have made her "I have to admit, Prince Zuko. I really find you attractive" she said eyeing the actor with a sultry smirk on her dark chubby face

'Zuko' sat on a rock body, and turned away from her and huffed...lifting his nose in the air in a self centered manner "you don't have to make fun of me" he said making 'Katara' cringe at the harshness of his voice

She sat down next to him, crossing her legs as she tried looking at him in the face "but I mean it. I had eyes for you since the day you first captured me" she said looking at him with half lidded eyes. Zuko and Katara looked at each other, faces blushing harshly at the thought of what was happening on stage. In the corner of Zuko's eye, he noticed Aang grabbing hold of the railings...frowning and seemed to seriously not like the part as much as they did

'Zuko' stood up and walked a few feet away from 'Katara' until a look of realization appeared on his face "wait. I thought you were the Avatar's girl" he said looking away from the tan woman in disgust. Aang nodded his head in response to this not noticing Zuko lets a low growl at the statement, seeing as now it was the quite opposite

'Katara' laughs in amusement at this statement, standing up and walked toward while she laughed 'Zuko' "the Avatar? Why, hes like a little brother to me" she said letting out another small laugh "I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way. Besides, how could he ever find out about this" she said softly as she and 'Zuko' embraced. Aang looked sadden at the actress's statement and chanced a glance at Katara's direction, she was currently looking down on her lap looking quite guilty for some reason

Aang stood up in irritation...catching Sokka's attention "oh, you're getting up. Can you get me some fire flakes?" he asked whispering to the retreating boy, satisfied as he placing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder before pulling it back to whisper at Aang much to Suki's irritation "oh, and some fire gummies" he added replacing his arm at its previous spot on a now irritated Suki's shoulder.

They hadn't seen Aang in a while since he left; some even considered him lucky to be able to miss the passing scenes they rest had to go through watching, it had left plenty of them dreaded watching the scene of Aang's near death and left Zuko go through guilt of the horrible actions he had committed and worsen the moment the scene of him betraying his uncle had passed;

They were back standing outside the theater as others around them made small talk, Zuko was the only one to sit on the floor with a brooding look on his face "it seems like every time there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive. I mean, you guys lose a lot." Suki said staring at the four members of the Gaang with a smirk on her face

It was a surprise that Sokka was the one to answer back "you're one to talk, Suki. Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right she did" he said looking at his girlfriend with an equally amused look, the smirk disappeared from her face only to be replaced by a frown

She arched her eyebrow and gave him a menacing look "are you trying to get on my bad side?" she asked narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend

He just leaned against the wall as he shrugged his shoulders in response "I'm just saying" he replied as if it were a matter a fact of what he said.

Katara walked in and looked around worriedly...noticing with distress that Aang was still missing from the group "does anyone know where Aang is?" she asked looking at the four teens before her

"He left to get me fire gummies like, 10 minutes ago" Sokka replied and leaned against the wall crossing his arms over his chest looking impatient "and I'm still waiting" he added, Katara looked at the direction that lead to the balcony

"I'm going to check outside" she said heading toward the exit leading to the balcony.

Her search for the young monk was short when she found him standing on the balcony looking at the view of the sea. She closed the draped door behind her, dimming the light and looked at the boy before her with worry "are you alright?" she asked noticing his back tense somewhat at the sound of her voice before replying

He looked frustrated as he answered "no, I'm not" he said taking off his hat and throwing it to the ground "I hate this stupid play" he added looking back at the view in front of him

Katara let out a sigh and walked toward him and placed a reassuring hand on his lean shoulder "I know it's upsetting, but it sounds like you're overreacting" she said flinching and pulled away when Aang snapped

He raised his arms to the sky "Overreacting, If I hadn't blocked my chakra, I'd probably be in the Avatar State right now" he yelled as he leaned back on the railing.

Zuko and Toph ignored the boy running around dressed and acting like Aang. Sokka and Suki had left moments ago to sneak into the backstage so Sokka could help the actor portraying him with better jokes for the play; Toph stood next to the brooding ex prince and let out a sigh "jeez. Everyone's getting so upset about their characters. Even you seem more down than usual and that's saying something." She said frowning down at his direction where he sat

Zuko glared at the girl leaning against the wall next to him, figures. Of course she wouldn't see anything bad about the play "you don't get it. It's different for you. You get a muscular version of yourself taking down 10 bad guys at once and making sassy remarks." He said frowning as he looked up at her

A smirk made its way on her pale face at the thought "yeah. That's pretty great" she said smiling

Zuko let out a long sigh as the look on his face turned regretful "But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shove them back in my face. My Uncle. He's always been by my side even when things were bad. He was there for me. He taught me so much and how do I repay him?" suddenly feeling anger inside himself as he remembered what he had done to his uncle "With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret and I may never get to redeem myself" he added looking down at his lap...the feeling of shame consuming his emotions

Toph slid to the ground sitting down next to the beaten guy she considered an older brother "you have redeemed yourself to your uncle" she said turning her head at his direction "you don't realize it, but you already have" she said comforting the young man next to her

Zuko looked at the earth bender next to him with an unsure look on his pale scared face "how do you know?" he asked arching his only eyebrow

She smiled at the memory of first meeting the old man "because I once had a long conversation with the guy and all he would talk about was you" she replied tilting her head his way

Zuko lowered his hood and smiled at her "really?" he asked looking at the small girl with a hopeful smile

"Yeah, and it was kind of annoying" she said smirking at him

A frown replaced the smile that was once on his face "oh, sorry" he muttered looking down

She leaned against him with a smile still plastered on her face "but it was also very sweet. All your Uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us." She said looking up at him "he'd be proud" she added noticing his mood change to that of contentment, it was out of the blue she swung her arm back and punched his arm

Zuko cringed at the painful impact "ow!" he yelped rubbing his abused arm and stared at Toph with a look of disbelief "what was that for?" he asked continuing to rub his arm

Toph smiled at his direction "that's how I show affection" she replied. The boy from earlier suddenly stopped running for a moment, standing in front of Zuko and studied the teens's appearance for a moment before a smile appeared on his chubby face

He pointed at the ex prince "Your Zuko costume is pretty good, but your scar's" he trailed of pointing at the scar on Zuko's face "is on the wrong side" he finished before running off, leaving a rather pissed off ex prince who tried to keep control of his anger

He pointed at his face "the scar is not on the wrong side!" he yelled at the running boy before yanking on his hood, crossing his arms over his chest as he attempted to cool down his raised temper.

Aang pondered over the last scene he saw before he left and let out a resigned sigh "Katara, did you really mean what you said in there?" he asked turning his back against the railing and crossed his lean arms over his chest, he knew he would be grieved if it was true….he thought he had proved his love for the water bender back on the day of the black sun, the idea of her and Zuko being together was just to harsh for him to even think about

Katara looked at the Avatar with confusion written on her tan face "in where? What are you talking about?" she asked turning to him

Aang was becoming irritated at her ignorance and clenched his fist "on stage. When you said I was like a brother" he trailed off pointing toward the direction leading to the theater "to you and you didn't have feelings for me" he finished placing a hand on his chest

Katara felt suddenly nervous about this, this was getting close to having to reveal everything to him and knowing how he is….letting out his anger here would be a horrible event "I didn't say that. An actor said that" she said placing her hand on her left elbow, her answer was true. Everything the two actors said and did on the stage never happened…didn't mean she was probably thinking it at the time

Aang looked relieved for a moment until he suddenly felt depressed "but its true, isn't it? We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were going to be together but we're not" he said looking at her with a sad look on his face...he was literally punching a hole into her heart with such a heart breaking look

Katara felt unsure and turned to face the ocean instead of him "Aang" she trailed off shaking her head "I don't know" she murmured looking down at the railing

"Why don't you know?" he asked looking at her hoping for an answer

Katara turned serious at his persisting "because were in the middle of a war and" she hesitated, wrapping her arms across her chest and looked toward the direction of the theater "we have other things to worry about. This isn't the right time" she said not sounding so convinced of herself

Katara didn't know why she had said that. Sure, it was what she had striven about before...she didn't want to be in a relationship when there was a war going on. But she fell head over heels for Zuko so hard, it made her forget her words…..things change she guessed, time changed things a lot

Aang was getting impatient and wondered why she thought this, Sokka and Suki were in a relationship during a war….why weren't they? "Well, when is the right time?" he asked and saw her get a look of impatience and pleading

She tugged at her hair and looked deep in thought "Aang, I'm sorry but right now" she trailed off tugging at her hair again and closed her eyes as a sigh past her lips "I'm just a little confused" she added as she worried her bottom lip...she wanted this to stop

Aang held his hands up expecting an explanation "why are you confused? We should have been together back at the invasion. Why are you holding back?" he was seriously pressuring her

There was no holding back to this, she had kept this hidden from him too long and it couldn't stay that way any longer '_time to tell the truth' _she kept her eyes closed and sighed "Aang I…" she was cut off when she felt a pair of lips on hers. She pulled back as she looked at him with shock and disbelief...how could he do such an impulsive thing? "I just said I was confused. I'm going inside" she said walking back inside shaking her head in disbelief. Leaving a regretful monk behind

Aang turned toward the ocean butting his head with his fist "Argh!" banging his head on the railing "I'm such an idiot" he muttered as he continued to hit his head against the railing.

Zuko and Toph sat there in silence until she felt Katara coming their way "here comes your girlfriend" she teased with a smirk on her face "go on and making puppy eyes at her instead of whining at me" she added shoving him gently, getting him to ruffle her hair in response

He stood up and walked toward Katara, placing a kiss on her cheek "did you find him?" he asked looking down at her, watching as a frown took place on her lovely face and received a nod in response a moment later "upset about the play?" he asked forgetting that Toph was still sitting on the floor nearby

She fumbled with the gold band around her arm "he was just upset, now he just did something to upset me" she saw him waiting patiently for her say it "I'd like to talk about this later" she said and he nodded reluctantly before placing a chaste kiss on her lips emediantly getting Toph's attention

She gagged when she sensed the contact "you guys aren't gonna be swapping saliva are ya?" she asked and the couple stared at her with wide eyes. Faces red with embarrassment as they failed to remember she was still sitting there "cause if you are, give me a warning" she added, standing up and walked back inside the theater.

After a while of not showing up for the next scene, Aang took a seat next to Sokka instead of sitting at his previous spot bringing his knees close to his chest. He looked at Katara's direction and didn't know if it were his imagination or not….but it looked like she was leaning against Zuko or something, before he could ponder over it "here's what you missed" Sokka whispered

Holding up his hand and took count "we went to the fire nation and you got better and Katara was the Painted Lady" he trailed off listing the things with his fingers "I got a sword and I think I killed Combustion Man" he finished all the while Aang's attention was on Katara "ooo look, The Invasion's about to start. Shh" he whispered not bothering to wonder why Aang looked so dejected as he lowered his head onto his knees.

'Katara' and 'Aang' were standing on the 'submarine' "I just want to let you know Aang, that I'll always love you" she trailed off placing her hand over her heart a let out a deep breath "like a brother" she added smiling at the actress in front of her

'Aang' puts a large happy smile on her face "I wouldn't want it any other way" she said swinging her arm across her body happily, they shared a hand shake and a friendly nod before 'Aang' pulled out her rather small glider and 'flew' off, 'Katara' looked up as she waved goodbye. Aang pulled down his hat, feeling embarrassed about the situation and noticed Katara turning her head to the side...not to look at him but at Zuko and vaguely heard him whisper reassurance in her ear…he didn't know what about.

Sokka and the whole audience were laughing hysterically at the actor's new brought up jokes and Sokka felt pretty much pride and relief at what a good idea it was to help out the actor portraying him with the jokes.

The group thought the play had finally come to an end but surprisingly the playwright had put up on how the events on the day of the comet would be. The next couple of scenes were mostly like every other. Incorrect. Like Zuko's joining to the group in the scene was just to much of a short consideration to the 'Gaang' and they didn't even show the weariness everyone else felt when he actually did join them, they didn't even show Katara's hatred toward him

Katara felt anger pent up inside of her when she heard that everyone in the theater minus the Gaang itself had applauded when they saw 'Zuko' being defeated and promptly killed in his battle with Azula. Katara looked and most of the group looked at his direction, to see a stunned look...yet the hurt was still visibly written on his pale face. She took his warm hand in her's and gave it a small squeeze getting a response back as he tangled his pale fingers with her slender tan ones

Like the battle between 'Zuko' and 'Azula'. It was a horror to see that everyone thought that the Avatar would fail in defeating the Fire Lord….that is….everyone in the fire nation obviously. The Gaang felt weary and now worried if the upcoming event would come to such result.

After a long day of watching a painfully butchered play, the Gaang had finally exited the theater as they walked their way back to the beach house; their opinion about the play was obvious to the fact that they did not enjoy it, minus Toph... who seemed to enjoy only first part of the play. They felt to worn out to even care

Everything was quiet as they walked along the shoreline, the only noise to be heard being the waves lapping at the surface "that….wasn't a good play" Zuko broke the silence, with Katara walking by his side as the others followed close behind him

Aang frowned at the thought of the play, as he had been already trying to forget the recent events "I'll say" he commented

Katara looked at the ocean with a frown on her face "no kidding" she added, looking up at Zuko

Suki who was by Sokka's side with his arm around her shoulder arched her eyebrow "horrible" was the only thing she had to say about the play

Toph wrapped her arms at her sides and scoffed "you said it" she replied

Sokka being the last to comment didn't speak of the horrendous work of the play "but the affects were decent" he commented waving his arm out matter of factly as few nodded their head in agreement.


	2. Chapter 2

Katara wasn't able to sleep that night, seeing as many things were on her mind. She decided to head out to the beach and do some practicing on her water bending. She felt relaxed as the cool water lapped at her bare feet as she manipulated the water maneuvering it around her, she was too focused on her work to even notice Zuko walking up to her "pondering over something?" he asked looking at her form

Caught in surprise, out of defensive reflex. She froze the streams of water into icicles and aimed them at the intruder, Zuko set a burst of flame melting the icicles "easy, it's just me" he reassured her and saw her out a sigh in relief as she placed her hand over her heart

Katara then glared at him "don't do that" she said as her erratic heartbeat settled down

"Something's on your mind" he said, it wasn't a question…but a statement that he clearly knew. She hadn't spoken a word since the Gaang had left the theater, not even a word by the time they went to bed either, he just knew by then something was bothering her

"No there isn't!" she replied a bit to quickly and saw him arch a dark eyebrow and gave her a look that clearly said 'oh really?'. Who was he to just say that, he didn't know what if she was quiet for a different reason, like she didn't feel like talking. '_Who does he think he is? Questioning me like that?'_ She thought and then her conscience decided to reply to her '_your boyfriend, you ignorant twit!'_ It screamed

He saw a dumbfound look appear on her face "Katara, you've been quiet since we left the theater and you been chewing your bottom lip constantly as if your were deep in thought, something's bothering you" he said as he kept his golden eyes focused on her

If Katara knew one thing about her boyfriend….it was that he is a hot head – no pun intended. Since the first time she had ever met him, she knew he had anger issues….how would he react if she had told him another boy had kissed her? When she knew he was clearly the jealous type "you'll get mad if I told you" big mistake to say that, his face darken with a serious look

He looked at her with an intense gaze as if staring at her would pry the answer "what did he do?" he asked voice gruff. Quickly coming to the assumption that it had to do with Aang, if that kid had done something to upset Katara, he would be sure to do something to him….Avatar or not "what did he do Katara?" he repeated taking a step toward the water bender

She ducked her head, not able to look back at his intense stare "he was just upset about the scene of the catacombs in Ba Sing Se, asked me if that stuff really happened" she flicked her eyes at him noticing he was getting rather impatient "he then asked me about me and him and what we were, I was gonna tell him about us but…." She bit her lip as she gave him a considering look before letting out a sigh "he kissed me" she finished and suddenly felt an intense heat radiating off him

He was ticked off, steam was seeping out of his nose as his anger was building up "he kissed you?" he asked in a low tone of voice, sounding eeriely calm as he eyed her

She swore he was turning red "Zuko, please calm down. You know I don't feel that way about him anymore" Katara said placing a cool hand on his bare arm, it was then she had noticed he was only wearing his pants….she probably hadn't noticed then, cause she was focused on either his face or the water "he was just upset" she added

"And that's an excuse for him to kiss you?" he asked his nose twitching as if to make a sneer, he gently grasped her arms despite his anger "Katara, you know my patience is already lacking. Its driving me insane to see that kid acting like a love sick polar bear puppy around you when he shouldn't be, all because you care to much about his feelings" he said tilting his head to look her in the eye "either you do something or I will" he added narrowing his eyes

She was sweating, not because she was nervous...but because of the heat he was letting off "you know better than to hurt him Zuko" she chided as he let go of her arms and turned to head to the house

He stopped for a moment and turned his head to look at her "if he kisses you again, I'm not sure I can make that promise" he said walking off leaving a worried girlfriend behind

Katara scoffed '_men,_ _always the jealous type'_ she thought, walking after him. Feeling worried of what might happen the next day when Zuko would catch his first glimpse of Aang.

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><p>Aang yelped as he dodged yet another sphere of flame. Zuko had taken the excuse of a sparring lesson to take out his anger on the young monk….all this was apparent to the other additional Gaang members with the exception of Aang himself. He blocked a burst of flame with one of his own and gave Zuko a worried confused look "why am I getting the feeling that you're mad at me?" he asked only to yelp in surprise as he swiftly dodged a flame whip<p>

Blocking the ball of flame with his foot "fight back! You'd be roasted by now if you hesitated" Zuko spat, his arm already engulfed in flames for the next attack

Sokka, Suki and Katara winced when a ball a flame nearly grazed Aang's right arm, Toph just sat by...feet flat on the ground as she 'watched' the show. Katara had told them the reason of Zuko's bad mood when he woke up….and the reason for his hostility directed at Aang, they didn't know if they should be amused or worried

Sokka stroked his chin for a moment before pulling his precious fake beard and mustache from out of nowhere "flying mammals and ladies, we have learned a very important lesson today" he said with a fake toned voice "Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation is a jealous type and we are given a demonstration of prince Zuko's short temper" he continued in a very teacher like manner, ignoring the wierd looks he was getting "it is by instinct that he would react with hostile jealously if seeing his significant other with another man that is not related and thereby react violently" Suki and Katara gave him a weird look "what?" he said slowly taking off his beard

They ducked out of the way when a burst of flame suddenly came at them "maybe you should stop Zuko before he decides to roast Aang alive" Toph said picking her nose as she stared at the direction of the two sparring boys

Katara let out a sigh and looked at the two boys, she stood up and slowly walked toward them. If she knew better -which she did- it was best not to catch any of them by surprise or she'd probably end up roasted. Zuko blocked a burst of flame sent at him until he felt a cool hand on his bare shoulder, he whirled around in surprise about to attack until he saw it was Katara. She gave him a look, daring him to make a next move "I think you guys should take a break" she said as she looked up at him with a calming look, earning a sigh of relief from Aang and saw him trot off towards the others

Zuko turned to give Aang a look, annoyed to see the kid run off when he hadn't finished taking out his anger at him. As if sensing his reluctance "please? For me" she said quietly looking up at him with a pleading expression

He let out steam through his nose and relaxed. Grabbing his shirt and tunic sitting on a rock nearby, he ignored Aang and the others and gave her and fleeting look "I'm gonna take a walk" he said walking off flexing his shoulders

Yep….Zuko was still pissed off and he hadn't finished blowing off steam, so perhaps taking out his anger on Aang because the kid kissed his girlfriend wasn't the only best solution he knew of. Apparently Aang was still recovering from the sparring lesson and seemed to notice Zuko did have a problem with him "did I do something wrong or something?" he asked wiping away sweat from his forehead

Katara stared at the direction Zuko walked off to, looking on with a worried look on her face "I'm gonna check on him" she said before heading off after her boyfriend. Aang wasn't sure what was going on and figured that it was just Katara being concerned and motherly over everyone

Toph picked at her nails and looked at his certain direction "he's still pissed off about the play" she replied and sat back "you know, since it threw all of his mistakes at his face and all" she added nonchalantly as she picked her ear…Sokka muttered something like 'nice save' and luckily Aang was to distracted to hear the comment

Aang put an understanding look, suddenly replaced by a brightened up smile "I'll go tell him that maybe we should quite Firebending lessons for today" he said sprinting off, Suki and Sokka cringed…for all they knew, that Aang would probably walk in on them and things could get ugly then if he did.

The young monk saw the two and was about to call out to them until he heard them talking….and noticed the strange way they were looking at each other, he ducked behind a tree and watched as their conversation lead on "I told you it meant nothing Zuko" Katara said looking at her boyfriend with an exasperate look on her tan face

Zuko ran his fingers through his dark longish hair and sighed in frustration "well tell that to him then" he replied looking back at her. Aang didn't know what was going on…what were they talking about? Were they talking about him? "I'm getting quite frustrated to see Aang always giving you longing looks and goofy grins when he shouldn't be doing it" he growled out

Katara then put a teasing look despite the fact her boyfriend was seething "you could ignore him, not become a super jealous guy who wants to burn alive every guy who flirts with me" she said taking a step closer to him, Aang's blood went cold….he was not hearing this, it was all just a horrible nightmare, have they been dating behind his back? He wanted to storm in there and stop them from becoming anything or doing anything….but the growing ache in his heart refused to let him move

Zuko arched his only eyebrow "I would be much calmer if the kid wasn't making googo eyes at you" he said taking a step closer to her "you know pretty darn well that I can't help myself, if a kid is making eyes at you….they'd regret it" he said taking a step closer with each passing word

Katara coyly played with her hair "I'm not sure I like it" she said looking up at him with half lidded eyes, Aang's heart wrenched and shattered into pieces when he saw Zuko pull her flushed against him and heard him mutter something like 'get used to it' into her ear before kissing her. Aang's heartbreak soon turned into anger, not able to stand there watching them kiss passionately...unknowing of his presence

He turned away from the couple and stormed back to the house. He didn't give the others a chance to say anything when they saw him storming in "you guys knew?" he yelled at them making them wince at the harsh tone

Toph rubbed her sensitive ear "knew what? That it was a bad idea to spar with Zuko when he woke up in a bad mood?" she asked coyly glad to not able to see that he was glaring at her. Of course she had faced Aang when he was angry before….never made her flinch even then

"This isn't a joke Toph!" he yelled at her as his face turned red and turned to all three "you guys knew? You knew about them? And you never said anything?" he asked in disbelief finally lowering the volume of his voice a notch

"It wasn't our place to tell" Suki spoke with a calm voice

Sokka slowly stood up "they were worried how you would take it" he said holding up his hands in defense in case Aang would act up again, his anger slowly diminished and once again replaced by sadness as he looked at the direction where Zuko and Katara were. Suki nudged Sokka on his side "what?" he asked looking down at his girlfriend

"Talk to him" she said giving him a serious look. For all they knew, Aang could be thinking about the whole situation at hand and be developing a sudden hatred toward Zuko….heck they were surprised his Avatar state wasn't triggered by the loss of his love interest

Letting out a sigh "c'mon, we need to talk" Sokka said gesturing his friend to follow him inside. He knew he should take this matter seriously, it was not a situation to be joking around with. Sokka was relieved to find Aang gloomily following him. Once in Aang's room to ensure Aang wouldn't act up if Zuko showed up "Aang I know its upsetting to find about it this way" he started and saw the young monk cross his arms over his lean chest

Aang huffed and paced around the room like a caged animal "why him huh? Why did she choose him? We kissed at the invasion and yet she decided she wants to be with him?" he ranted pacing around the room

Sokka was almost taken back by the revelation, he had no idea his sister and Aang kissed the day at the invasion "I simple kiss doesn't establish a relationship Aang" Sokka said leaning against the door frame as if wanting to block the boy's exit "things can change" he added

"Yeah, well…I don't like it. I had liked her longer than he had" Aang said glaring at the balcony entrance "I knew her longer than he had, and she spent most of her time hating him….how can she choose him over me?" he asked wiping his nose

There was no getting through with this kid "things change as time passes Aang. And they really like each other, it's not like Zuko decided he liked her then and there and decided she was his. He actually cares about her, he doesn't want to get her in his bed or anything"

"He what? She was supposed to be with me, I had hoped we would get together when this war was over. Why did he steal her from me? Hes supposed to be my friend, friends do not steal what's mine" he muttered angrily, Sokka watched with near amusement as tiny puffs of steam came out of the kid's nose...apparently Zuko's habit rubbed off on him

The last comment really bothered Sokka though "Aang, I'd really appreciate it if you don't speak about Katara that way. Shes not some prize to be won okay?" he said eyebrow twitching in annoyance "and you don't know the whole story Aang, Zuko had actually come to me and asked MY permission to court my sister…he wants to take care of her and love her…not just shag with her in the sack, he actually cares about her" he said sounding almost in disbelief at the memory of Zuko actually confiding with him, as if his consent were important

"Why did you say yes to him? I had come to ask you for her a ton of times and you always blow me off, it's not fair" Aang said as he started to pace again…it was apparent he wasn't the one loosing the patience

Sokka stopped the boy's pacing when he placed his hand on his shoulder "Aang, you are twelve years old….your too young to even consider this kind of stuff, Zuko is near seventeen…around Katara's age range" he spoke logically

"And don't think I wasn't considering your feelings Aang. I really was. But I was also thinking about Katara's happiness too, she wanted to be with Zuko…and as long as shes happy with Zuko. I'm fine with it" he let out a sigh noticing the kid's eyes watering up "I'm sorry Aang, but I'm just thinking about what makes her happy" he said looking at the boy one last before deciding he would want to be alone.

Zuko and Katara emediantly knew something was up when they came back, Suki and Toph gave them weary looks when they had came back to the house and knew what was up. Suki had told them Sokka was talking to Aang about the whole thing, Katara felt horrible...knowing for sure Aang was a heartbroken mess and she and Zuko were the cause. When Sokka showed up he had a grim look on his face

Katara looked at him expectantly "is he okay?" she asked as he sat down the steps

Sokka winced and shrugged a single shoulder "I guess, he didn't throw rocks at me…Zuko is still in one piece je je. He just wants to be alone" he said with a sympathetic look as he looked up at his little sister.

* * *

><p>Katara stood on the balcony in their room with a concerned look on her face. She was worried beyond belief, Aang still hadn't come out of his room to eat and not even to come out for Water bending practice. Brushing her hair away from her face she decided to check up on him…..with a sigh, she left the room.<p>

She knocked lightly on Aang's door carrying a tray of his dinner they saved for him "Aang?" she called out walking into the room, seeing that everything was still intact in his bedroom "I brought you dinner" she lightly said and saw him sitting in the balcony of his room

Aang just sat there as if he didn't hear here "why?" he whispered, he spoke so softly it almost escaped her ears

"You still need to eat Aang, I know you must be…." She was cut off when he turned to look at her

"No, I mean why him? Why did you choose him over me?" he asked standing up but never took a step toward her "what happened to the war excuse? I thought you were just waiting for the war to be over…I never thought it was because you were already with someone else" he said bitterly and turned away from her

She sighed feeling awful and set his tray on the bed before walking up to him "Aang…it's just…I don't know, things can change a lot in time. It just happened…I…I…" she kept stuttering, suddenly losing the abilitie abilities speak correctly

"You fell in love with him didn't you? And when I thought you felt something for me, were you just leading me on then? Letting me believe you had genuine feelings for me" he said turning away from her

"No! I would never do that to you Aang" she said looking at him with an assuring look "I did feel something for you….I really did, but it was just a crush and I well. I'd never lead you on like that Aang" she said raising her hand to place it on his bare shoulder only for him to jerk away "please Aang, I cherish our friendship….I don't want something like this to get between us, I don't want to lose what we have" she tried reaching for him, sighing in relief when he gave in to her embrace feeling tears wetting her bare shoulder

"I thought it was destiny. I thought we were supposed to end up together….. but I guess I was wrong" he murmured against her shoulder and with a long shaky sigh, he pulled away from her "I just need some time alone" he lightly said wiping his tear streaked cheeks and his blurry gray eyes

She didn't realize her eyes had welled up with tears until she felt a tear run down her cheek "sleep well Aang" she whispered before lightly closing the door behind her.

Zuko found her standing on the balcony of their room looking out at the ocean, he walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her bare waist and placed a kiss on her shoulder "you okay?" he asked as she turned to face him, locking her hands together behind his neck

She placed her head on his broad shoulder and sighed "I'm just worried about Aang" she murmured nuzzling his jaw receiving a kiss on the cheek in response "I was so worried about how hurt his feelings would end up and if things turned badly, that I never thought for the fact that he could find out by himself" she said playing with a lock of dark hair "I messed up" she added letting out a long sigh

He ran his hand up and down her back "he'll be fine" he murmured pulling her at arms length and gave her a reassuring smile "hes been through worse" he added pecking her lips lightly

She looked regretful and unconvinced "pretty sure this is the worse hes been through" she said gesturing to the both "what if its to much for him by the time the comet comes? He'd probably be…" she was cut off by her boyfriend

"He'd have to get over it by then Katara" he said giving her a serious look "he knows he can't be thinking about what he lost by the time then" he added caressing the exposed flesh of her smooth back "he'll be fine" he said pressing his forehead against hers

She let out a sigh and nodded reluctantly "its late, we should go to bed" she said pulling away from his warm embrace "good night" she whispered giving him a chaste kiss before heading back inside, Zuko stood there for a moment relishing the cool air on his warm skin and turned his head to see Katara snuggling into her pillow, with a deep sigh….he went inside.

* * *

><p>The passing week was insufferable and beyond tense; the tension between the three was unbearable. It was troublesome when Aang decided that getting in a fight with his friend would solve things between his conflicted feelings a few days ago. Zuko was just glad Aang only gave him an accusing look earlier that morning and didn't plan on dissolving him into a pulp with four elements; still he didn't put it as an excuse to avoid training Aang…even if the kid was resenting him<p>

Aang was swinging his arms letting flames loose with a concentrated look on his face. Zuko stood not far away, watching with stern eyes with his arms crossed over his chest. Aang flung his leg and arms letting flames loose "more ferocious!" Zuko yelled keeping a watchful eye on the monk's movements. The young Avatar would have remarked back if they weren't on training session….surely he knew his resentment on Zuko had to come last…his training always came first. His fist engulfed with flames looking concentrated "imagine striking through your opponent's heart" Zuko said keeping his eye on the kid

Aang shot a ball of flame before turning to Zuko, looking quite frustrated...barely able to control the urge to send a sphere of flame at his teacher "ugh! Im trying!" he said with a glare planted on his childish face

Zuko ignored the boy's complaints and continued ordering "now let me hear you roar like a tiger – dillo!" he spat eyes narrowed watching as the kid huffed in agitation, Aang stretched out his arms and roared rather softly as fire came out of his mouth a hands….it was rather weak "that sounded pathetic! I said roar!" he spat narrowing his gold eyes at the kid

Aang repeated the motion again, roaring ferociously strong spurts of flame coming out of his mouth and his hands making Momo screech in fear and run behind Zuko's legs for refuge. Zuko crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in approval. When Katara offered watermelon juice, Aang eagerly went off for the offered break….either he took the chance to get away from Zuko or what not…and he kept his distance from Katara after she gave him his cold beverage.

Zuko was annoyed to find everyone lounging at the beach instead of preparing themselves for the time the comet comes, it was a tense and shocking moment when he had attacked Aang to get the kid to fight back and at least learn something…..he was shocked and disappointed to hear that they changed the war plan…deciding to attack after the comet – Katara had looked guilty for not telling him anything about it – that was until he told them about Ozai's plan. After the training the for the events of the upcoming comet – and where Toph had portrayed the Fire Lord a bit to well - they were all then left upset when Aang was doubting himself on ending Ozai's life.

* * *

><p>Dinner was a lot calmer opposed of the earlier events that day, Aang had sat not far from the others….either it was to avoid Zuko or he was pondering on how to defeat Ozai without killing him, Katara was out about who knows where probably looking for useful utilities to use<p>

It was until Katara suddenly came walking in with a secretive smile on her tan face as she held a scroll in her hands "I have a surprise for everyone!" she said sounding cheerful and excited...catching Toph's attention with the wrong assumption

"I knew it! You are pregnant with Zuko's baby" she said with a wide smile on her pale face, at hearing this...Sokka spit out his food and started coughing as Suki patted his back trying to get him to stop while looking quite surprised herself, Zuko's eyes widen and looked either shocked or horrified…Aang's face just paled at the thought

Katara's blue eyes were wide "err, no" ignoring the sighs of relief and watched as they went back to eating "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this" she trailed off throwing the scroll downward as it rolled open "look at baby Zuko!" she gushed as they stared in surprise and disbelief at the image of a baby with a wide smile arms wide open as he enjoyed himself at the beach "isn't he cute" she coddled, it was either the responses of laughter or gushes that bothered Zuko beyond belief

Zuko groaned and closed his eyes shaking his head all the while "oh lighten up, I was just teasing" she said coddling her boyfriend and looked down at the picture "you looked so cute" she commented, he looked adorable as a baby…she had to admit…it had her thinking of how their kids would turn out one day

He set his bowl aside and let out a annoyed sigh….he wasn't sure if he should have felt insulted or what not "that's not me, its my father" he said looking at her direction. The place filled with uncomfortable silence as Katara quickly rolled up the scroll and gave him a sheepish look

The silence lasted for a few moments until Suki pointed at the scroll and looked at her friend "but he looked so sweet and innocent" heck even herself couldn't believe that such horrible monster looked so adorable when an infant…once naïve to the horrible and terrible things in the world….she could only guess he grew up in his father's footsteps to continue such malevolence

Zuko scoffed at the idea of his father once being such "well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst Father in the history of all Fathers" he said hatred inking his deep voice

They were all surprised by the reply Aang gave in defense to the lord "but hes still a human being" they weren't sure what was wrong with him. Katara was practically seething at this, Ozai was anything but such…he caused nothing but pain and destruction in the world…she hated that man for many reasons….causing Zuko pain was one of them

Zuko looked at the boy with disbelief written on his face "you're going to defend him?" he asked sounding disbelieved at such

Aang stood up and looked at his friends who were looking at him with disappointing looks "no, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person and the world would probably be better off without him. But there's got to be another way" the young monk said looking away from the group as he tried thinking of such way to defeat the man without taking his life

Zuko didn't know for sure if he was sneering or not "like what?" he asked looking at the monk with a look that wasn't entirely nice looking

Aang twiddled his thumbs together as in thinking and shrugged "I don't know. Maybe we can make some big pots of glue and then I can use glue bending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore" he said with a look that said he probably liked the idea, they looked at him as if he lost his mind

Zuko resisted the urge to beat the senses into the kid "yeah. Then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories would make him good again" he said voice inked with sarcasm as the others laughed and snickered

Aang failed to notice the sarcasm in the comment "do you really think that would work?" he asked naively with a wide hopeful smile on his childish face

"No!" Zuko snapped looking at Aang with a serious look on his pale face gold eyes narrowed, why had Aang even considered that? Ozai could never change….it was simple fact everyone in the world knew about "why would you even consider it? The Fire Lord is never going to change and that's something you should know by now" he said in a stern voice looking at the monk with a serious look

"I know" Aang said feeling irritated at Zuko for having a good point. He started pacing with a worried look on his face "this goes against everything I learned from the monks" he said looking down at his linked hands as he paced "I can't just go waltzing around wiping out people I don't like" he added with a frown on his face as he looked at the Gaang

"Sure, you can. You're the Avatar" Sokka said failing to notice the young monk's hands balling in fist as he struggled to contain his temper "if it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you" he finished it was then Aang snapped at him

Aang turns to his friend and snapped making Sokka jump up in shock "this isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in!" he yelled glaring at the others

"Aang, we do understand. It's just…" she was rudely cut off by the angry twelve year old Avatar

"Just what, Katara! What!" he snapped glaring at her

Katara got annoyed by the rude interruption "we're trying to help" she said sternly looking at him with an annoyed look on her tan face

He pointed at her with a angry look "then when you figure out a way for me" he pointed at himself "to defeat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" he snapped raising his arms in the air in exasperation and walked away, leaving speechless and shocked friends behind

Katara stared at his retreating back sternly "Aang, don't walk away from this" she said walking after him until she felt a warm hand on her slender shoulder

She looked up to see Zuko looking down at her with a calm look "let him go, he needs time to sort it out by himself" he said with a calm voice despite the fact that he was upset at the boy's outburst. They all looked at the direction Aang disappeared off to.

Aang was in the balcony of his room looking at the view before him; he paced around the area like a impatient Tiger – dillo locked in a cage as he was deep in thought. His mind was all scrambled up with thoughts on how to defeat the Fire Lord without taking away his life…and Katara and Zuko's sudden revealed relationship.

"What do they know how I'm feeling, they don't understand….no one does" he muttered as he continued in his pace, ignoring Momo who looked up at him with a look that could have been concern "they were never forced or expected to take someone's life….what would it prove anyway?" he mutter bitterly, leaning against the railing and looked up at the dark starlit sky "Roku I'm confused, I need your advice….so much is going on right now and I can't handle it…..everyone is expecting me to kill the Fire Lord and the one girl I ever loved is in the arms of prince Zuko" he said with a sad confused look on his face….he frowned when Roku didn't make his appearance

_'Zuko'_ Aang's gray eyes narrowed at the thought of the firebender, he didn't know how long his two teachers were seeing each other….or how long they have been interested in the other

The guy at least must have known Aang liked her, he bet Zuko just went in for the kill the moment he got the chance. Aang wished he hadn't let them go to find her mother's killer, wished he hadn't let Zuko join them…or wished Katara to forgive him. Everything was clear as glass now that he knew, all those affectionate gestures, those subtle flirtations, the reason of Zuko's anger at him the week before…..and the fact that Zuko had her room located closest to his

He felt stupid for not seeing this any sooner….it could have been more obvious to anyone else to see the two were in a relationship, but he had been so god damn clueless to even notice the most subtle hint. Aang wanted to go to Zuko's room and give the guy a piece of his mind….at least give him a warning if he ever tried to hurt Katara, he knew he already lost her to Zuko….a thing he never wanted to think about again….so he at least wanted to make sure she would be well taken care of

He stood up, ignoring his questioning flying monkey and jumped swiftly to one window sill to another going through a few balconies on his there….why he didn't just walk down the halls? Simple, as far as he was aware….Zuko may as well hear the door opening and…well…he doesn't take night visitors nicely '_except if it was Katara'_ Aang thought bitterly

After a long while of jumping from balcony to balcony. Nearly waking Sokka and Suki in the process. He finally reached his destination. He quietly walked in, opening his mouth as if ready to speak up until his blood went cold at the sight in front of him, Zuko was already asleep but curled up on his side was Katara, her upper body was practically sprawled over him face buried in his neck with his arm wrapped around her bare shoulder protectively

How long have they been sharing a room? as far as he knew, Sokka shared his room with Suki...but the thought of Zuko and Katara sharing the same room? He paled at the thought of what they might have been doing previously. He remembered an embarrassing moment when he had walked in on Suki and Sokka - doing spirits knows what - but they were a tangled mass of limbs at that moment. Then Sokka threw his boomerang at the confused monk, yelling at him to get lost. These two were still clothed in their undergarments….so perhaps they weren't doing what Aang saw Sokka and his girlfriend do

He then felt a sudden urge to yell at Zuko to take his hands of her, but then realized that it wasn't his place to say such. Aang felt his heart ache for his loss of the one girl he ever loved…now in the arms of a guy much older than him…..what made her fall for Zuko anyway? Was it because he was older? Taller? Was it his deep voice? What was it? His mind was scrambled up in a heap trying to figure out what it was. Until he suddenly felt the temperature rise "is it me, or is it getting a hot in here?" he asked himself tugging the collar of his shirt

Aang suddenly ducked at the last moment when a ball of flame was aimed at him, he yelped scrambling for the exit to see Zuko in a sleepy heap aiming balls of burning flame at him. He knew very well that Zuko wasn't doing any of this voluntarily….as far as he knew, the guy had been caught by surprise many times to attack a person without knowing it….and he noticed Zuko was rather sleep deprived.

Zuko skidded after the intruder to find the balcony empty. He looked around the large balcony, looking for the little imp that sneaked in...failing to notice the eight fingers gripping on to the balcony surface. Aang would have swiftly left if it hadn't been for his lack of breath, so he hung helplessly as he tried to catch his breath. Waiting for the prince to disappear back inside and resume his sleep

Hearing the shallow breathing, Zuko's eyes turned to the certain direction. He slowly walked over to the railing, arm engulfed in flames ready to attack the intruder…..at the moment he was about to look over the railing a voice stopped him "what are you doing up so early?" Katara asked brushing a strand of dark hair from her face as she gripped his red tunic closed around her body; he turned away from the railing to look at his girlfriend and groaned to see her wearing his tunic...which reached solely up to her knee

Must have woken her by that harsh jerk when he jumped out of bed, he nearly cringed at the thought "thought. someone. was out here" he replied looking around the area all the while as he said this

Once Katara saw that the place was empty and his disappointed look "it's late, come to bed" she said looking at him with a tired look before heading inside. Zuko followed her only to look back with a suspicious look before heading inside; Aang was still hanging from the balcony before sighing in relief when he heard them head inside but his mind was screaming '_how long did they start sharing rooms?'_ He pushed the thought aside and headed back to his room.

It was then the next day they found out he had disappeared, they had looked over every inch of the area, every corner of the house and every alley in town…yet they had found no signs of him. They were all worried something might have happened to him and even in the worse situation ever imagined….the comet was coming in a few days

The Gaang had then turned to Zuko for help, knowing that he was by far the best at finding Aang….something he wasn't proud to admit. It was then he flew them to the Earth Kingdom…everyone questioning him for this reason. The Gaang then decided that all of them coming along would catch unnecessary attention, so only he and Katara went in to search for whatever he brought them here for.

Katara was confused as to why Zuko brought them to a bar, she looked at her surroundings with disdain. Seeing a bunch of drunken men fighting, it was then she felt Zuko wrap an arm around her waist and looked up at him questioningly….he gestured to a group of men staring at their direction – no at her direction - with leering looks, disturbed...she looked away from them feeling his hand tighten its grip on her waist reassuring her "and the reason you brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" she asked giving him a look

Zuko lifted his arm pointing at a certain direction "June" was the only thing he said. Katara followed where his arm was pointing and shivered when she saw a young woman taking down a burly man with no effort…all the while drinking her tea

She remembered her alright, and her giant mole creature that paralyzed her and Sokka once back then "and the reason your came here for her?" she asked giving her boyfriend a look that wasn't at all pleased

_'Was she jealous?'_ He thought nearly smirking "her shirshu. It's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have of finding him" he replied as they watched June fight a bunch of men for who knows what reason

"So, you think she would help us?" she asked looking at June's direction with an analyzing look

He let out a long breath "I sure hope so" he said as the walked toward the woman, who finally sat back in her seat as most men were on the floor groaning in pain. As June refilled her cup she noticed an all too familiar young man and rolled her eyes "oh, great, it's Prince Pouty. Where's your creepy grandpa?" she asked smirking when his brow twitched in annoyance

Zuko took a deep breath, deciding it was best not to take the bait "he's my uncle, and hes not here" he said looking down at her

She noticed the arm around Katara's waist and the smirk on her face broaden "I see you worked things out with your girlfriend" she said smirk widening when a very noticeable blush appeared on the couple's faces "so what do you want?" she asked sipping her tea as she watched the couple closely

Zuko removed his arm from his girlfriend's waist and looked down at the woman with a hopeful look "I need your help finding the Avatar" he said and eyed her closely waiting for her response

_'He's still hunting that kid?'_ She thought rolling her eyes in mild annoyance "humph, doesn't sound too fun" she replied smirking in her tea as she noticed his angering off look

Zuko's brow twitched as annoyance washed over him. He looked down at her with a serious look as his hands slowly balled into fist, both girls were nearly caught by surprise when he slammed both fist on the table "does the end of the world sound like more fun?" he asked with a sneer on his face looking down at the woman who simply stared at him for a moment cup of tea in hand.

Sokka, Suki and Toph kept their distance as Appa and the shirshu growl at each other. Upon coming across the deadly creature, Sokka had a pretty good guess as to why Zuko brought them here. It was then they saw Zuko and Katara walking out of the bar…accompanied by June who somewhat looked reluctant

June pulled out a large piece of meat and waved it attentively at the shirshu "Nyla" she cooed...emediantly catching the animal's attention and threw the chunk of meat at him, watching as he instantly snatched it and swallowed. She walked up to him and stroked him affectionately "who's my little snuffly wuffly?" she coddled until stepping back when he suddenly shot out his long tongue….she shut his snout closed "careful there" she chided him

Sokka pointed at her and gave Zuko a look "I remember her. She helped you attack us" he said glaring at his sister's boyfriend

Zuko looked simply kept a stoic expression "yup, back in the good old days" he replied and walked up to June

"Okay" June turned to the group expectantly "whose got something with the Avatar's scent on it?" she asked holding her hand out and flicked her eyes to the giant bison to see Katara browsing around the saddle

She took out Aang's staff and looked down at the older woman "I have Aang's staff" she offered, holding it out to June

June showed the staff to the shirshu to take in the scent. Nyla takes in a deep breath and started sniffing around the area moving around the Gaang and his master when he suddenly plopped down to the ground rubbing his nose making whining sounds all the while. Zuko crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the animal with a disappointed look as Katara and Toph stood behind him looking bewildered "well, what does that mean?" he asked looking at June

She stroked her shirshu's head and looked at the group who were looking down at her expecting an answer "it means you're friends gone" she replied looking back down at Nyla

Toph put an exasperate look and crossed her arms, looking at the direction where June and her shirshu stood "we know he's gone, that's why we're trying to find him" she letting out a huff of breath

June stood up from her spot next to Nyla and gave them a serious look "no, I mean hes gone _gone_" she trailed off and crossed her arms over her lithe body "he doesn't exist" she finished as the Gaang looked puzzled and worried.

They had been shocked and somewhat confused to find out that Aang had suddenly vanished from thin air. June had almost been ready about to leave until Zuko had come up with someone who was able to take down the Fire Lord in Aang's replacement…..it had left the Gaang nearly retching when he came back with his uncle's old sandal that scent nearly knocked out everyone near it

June had then lead them all the way to Ba Sing Se where her Shirshu had tracked Iroh's scent to. After a short farewell from June, she left them at the broken down walls of Ba Sing Se...where they knew Zuko's uncle would be located and they could seek help from him

Zuko looked at the broken down wall and sighed wearily "its late, we should camp out for tonight" he said looking at the others as they got off Appa "we'll start our search again at dawn" he added as each of them got comfortable on Appa's legs while Toph took the comfort of sleeping on the ground.

O0o0o0

They we're all sleeping peacefully, trying to get as enough rest as they can without any discomfort of what they knew what would be coming soon. Katara turned in her sleep wiggling closer to Zuko...looking for warmth in her sleep as he sleepily threw an arm over her waist pulling her close to him, Sokka was sleeping on Appa's large tail snoring loudly with his arm tucked around Suki's shoulder as she turned away from the disturbing noise

Toph slept soundly on the hard ground until she snapped her eyes open feeling the ground, sensing someone was coming their way. She was about to warn her friends until a ring of flames surrounded them, frightening Appa awake in an instant

They then turned to the sound of a maniacally laughter, only to find four adults on top of the rubble with surprise "well well, look what we have here" Bumi said laughing all the while, sounding like the maniac that he is. Katara and Sokka smiled once they recognize who the four men are.

The Gaang was beyond relieved to find help from a group of master benders known as the Order of The White Lotus, Zuko almost chuckled out loud at realizing why a lotus tile had been so important to his uncle Iroh. Katara had been glad to find out that Master Pakku had found her grandmother again and had married….though Sokka had been disappointed to see the older man didn't want him calling him any of the names he had suggested

The four men had told them of the things they have done on the day of the black sun – Suki was impressed to know Bumi had conquered back his city all on his own – all the while as they lead the teens to their campsite. Katara was well aware that Zuko was nervous at the moment of arriving to the campsite, it had been awhile since he last seen his uncle and he still thought the man would resent him.

She excused herself from her new grandfather and Piandao and walked away, heading for her boyfriend and thought she heard Pakku utter something like 'remind me to have a chat with that boy' she just shook away the thought. She sat next to him and ran her fingers through his hair affectionately and as if comforting him "you okay?" she quietly asked placing her hand on his scared cheek and looked at him with concern

He turned away from her and her affectionate gestures and looked down at the ground with a frown on his face "no, i'm not okay. My uncle hates me, I know it. He was the only one who ever cared about me and supported me in every way he could and I repay him by turning against him" he said balling his hands in fist, only for Katara to gently loosen them up "how can I even face him after all that?" he added hanging his head in shame

Katara looked at him with soft blue eyes and took hold of his warm hand in her cool one "Zuko, your sorry for what you did, right?" she asked gently massaging his knuckles

Zuko let out a sigh a looked slightly her way "more sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life" he replied running his fingers through his messy dark hair

Katara gave him a comforting smile "then he will forgive you" she said looking at him as he looked at her with an unsure look "he will" she added giving him a reassuring look. Zuko looked at his girlfriend for a while and stood with her following close behind, she gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek that left him somewhat calmer him as he headed toward the large tent

He took a deep breath before entering his uncle's tent.

The group had been glad that Zuko had worked things out with his uncle that morning, Toph and Katara knew before then the old man would forgive his nephew. At the current moment, Iroh was having a nice chat with Toph as they drank a cup of tea….Toph was giving him a heads up of the previous events that happened to the Gaang

Taking a sip from his tea, Iroh then noticed in the corner of his brown eyes...his nephew and Katara talking not so far away from where he sat and arched an eyebrow. Interesting.

Toph clearly noticed the man staring at the couple and smirked "I swear those two are stuck together like glue, they're never far away from each other these days" she commented taking a sip from her tea not sensing Iroh look at her in surprise and flickered interest

He looked back at his nephew and Katara as a gleeful smile developed on his wrinkled face "are you insinuating that my nephew and Miss Katara are in a relationship?" he asked looking at the blind earth bender sitting next to him

Toph smirked, she could obviously tell the man was curious about his nephew's relationship….she felt a sneaky sensation rising up wanting to see what the results would be if she told the man of Zuko and Katara "I tell ya something Iroh….those two are more in control of their hormones than Sokka and Suki, but that doesn't change the fact that when they're alone and out of sight that they are still in the 'hots for each other, lets shag in the sack' faze. They're just like being more private I guess" she said accepting another cup of tea, ignoring the shocked look on his wrinkled face

A part of Iroh would consider it inappropriate to be committing in such actions during a war, such activities would bring unwanted consequences for the girl…..but another part of him – the part that has been begging his nephew to get a lady friend – was practically screaming in the inner desires of his mind 'yes! Grandchildren!'

Toph arched an eyebrow at the man as if she had read his own mind….it was pretty much readable with how fast his heart was beating with excitement "it is nice to know my nephew has settled down with such a lovely lady" he commented when he noticed the girl expecting a response

She rolled her blurry green eyes and set her tea cup down "I guess" she muttered and smirked when a sudden thought popped up "you should go talk to them" she said sitting straight with a mischievous smile plastered on her face "I'm sure you would love to get to know your new future daughter in law" she added and was not aware of the happy spark in his brown eyes

Iroh stood up and smiled down at Toph "it was nice having this chat with you miss Toph" he said and with a respective bow he walked off, heading strait towards his nephew's direction.

Zuko and Katara were in a middle of a conversation until they noticed Iroh walking toward them, it was then Zuko noticed the amused look on his uncle's face "what is it uncle Iroh?" he as quirking his single eyebrow at the older man

Iroh smiled at the young couple before pursing his lips as if in thought "I'm afraid you haven't introduced me to your new lady friend, dear nephew" he replied looking quite disappointment but his eyes sparkled with the same amusement as before and sent Katara a friendly smile, receiving a smile back in response

Zuko's face heated up with a blush and shook his head "who told you…" he trailed off when he noticed not far off behind his uncle, Toph had a mischievous smile on her pale face as she looked at their direction waving her fingers at him. He put a glare and cleared his throat "never mind" he finished until noticing Iroh had mentioned something to Katara that made her blush

"You always did seem to catch his interest" he said with an amused smile on his face when he noticed his nephew's eyes widen and a blush became apparent on his face "he used to stay in his room in the ship all day and stare at your necklace, and I did recall seeing him observing you quite often back then" he added as she let out a giggle. Before she might have found it slightly creepy…now? It was quite flattering really

"Uncle" Zuko hissed at the older man

Katara placed a hand on her chest "it's nice to know he was still a typical teenager behind that entire angry serious demeanor" she said arching an eyebrow at the look on her boyfriend's face

He decided to change the subject then and there before his uncle mentioned other embarrassing things "uncle you met Katara" he said smiling at her before giving his uncle a indignant glare

Iroh just smiled seeming already have gotten used to every look his nephew made "yes, I have. And she's a lovely lady" he commented smiling at Katara who was blushing at the complement "hopefully she would stick around a while. I'd like to see how my future grandnieces and nephews would turn out" he added and smiled when he saw the two teens faces darken with a blush

"Uncle" Zuko nearly shrieked but kept his voice low, though it had high pitched up a notch

Katara placed a hand on her heated face until she heard Suki calling her "if you excuse me. It was nice seeing you General Iroh" she said bowing at him and nearly sprinted off

Zuko let out an exasperate sigh pinching the bridge of his nose and gave his uncle a disbelieved look, Iroh just smiled and folded his hands in a fist "I like her, very sweet girl. Stick to her Zuko, she'd make a fine Fire lady someday" he said winking at his red faced nephew and walked off, Zuko let out a groan and followed after him.

When the Gaang and Iroh sat around in a circle eating breakfast they had discussed the coming events of the plan and what they would do in part of Aang's sudden disappearance. They had been shocked and disappointed to find out that Iroh would not defeat his own brother in place of Aang. Zuko was left shocked and speechless when his uncle said that he would have to be the one to take the thrown instead of him once Ozai was defeated.

Everyone was getting set and prepared to leave. Piandao had gave Sokka, Suki and Toph a giant Eel hound to travel on as they would head for the airship base not far on a small island just off the Earth kingdom shore. Katara and Zuko prepared themselves on Appa, just about ready to face Azula back in the Fire Nation

Zuko took the reins in his hands as he seated himself on Appa's head and looked down at his uncle "if I'm going to be the Fire Lord after the war is over, what are you gonna do?" he asked looking down at the old man curiously

Iroh smiled holding a lotus tile in his hand looking down at it "after I re-conquer Ba Sing Se, i'm going to re-conquer my tea shop and I'll play Pai Sho every day" he replied flipping the tile and catching it.

Zuko just smiled down at his uncle "goodbye General Iroh" Katara said and with a snap at the reins and a 'yip yip' Appa flys off as Sokka makes the eel hound run off the opposite direction leaving Iroh and the other members standing there.

* * *

><p>The comet was already making its horrible appearance on their flight to the Fire Nation. Katara would of thought it was a beautiful sight to look at if she didn't know someone was going to use it to harm and destroy for his own bidding. Katara looked at Zuko for a moment and noticed that he looked slightly worried, she could only think it was about facing his sister Azula "Stop worrying Zuko, we can take Azula" she reassured him, placing a calming hand on his arm<p>

He turned his head to look at her in the eye "I'm not worried about her" he said looking down at the reins in his hands for a moment before looking ahead "I'm worried about Aang, what if he doesn't have the courage to take down the Fire Lord, what if he loses?" he said looking back at her with worried gold eyes shimmering brightly with the glow the comet was giving off

Katara gave him a serious and somewhat reassuring look "Aang won't lose, Zuko" she said looking at him for a moment longer before looking at the view ahead of them "he's gonna come back. He has to" she murmured, looking determined and very sure of herself that her words were true, Zuko looked at his girlfriend a moment longer before looking back ahead

"Let's just hope so" he murmured as his grip on the reins tightened as Katara leaned against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she thought of positive things...spirits knew how both of them needed the reassurance.

* * *

><p>The entire city was filled with an eerie silence when the couple arrived, no sign of life anywhere as far as their sight could see. Zuko's eyes narrowed when he saw the leader of the sages coronating Azula in the plaza. He was not gonna let that happen.<p>

The sage was about to place the diadem on Azula's head until he and the other sages caught sight of Appa and astride him was Zuko and a water tribe girl. They were left shocked at seeing the banished prince coming back. The long pause caught Azula's attention and she snapped her head to glare at the old man "what are you waiting for? Do it!" she snapped impatiently until hearing Appa growling and narrowed her eyes when she recognized who was astride the flying beast

Appa landed not far away from the group as Zuko stood up "sorry, but you're not gonna become Fire Lord today" he said glaring at his sister and jumped off of Appa "I am" he said barely noticing how mussed up and out of place his sister looked

Azula let out a laugh and looked at Zuko with amusement "you're hilarious" she wiping away an invisible tear of mirth

Katara then stepped up glaring at Azula "and your going down" she said looking up at the other girl as she stood by Zuko who never took his gold eyes off his sister, almost seemed like he was analyzing her of some sort. The sage looked at Zuko's direction hesitantly before resuming putting the diadem on Azula's messy bun before she shot a hand out gesturing him to stop

Azula stood up with a wicked look on her pale face "you want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Then let's settle this brother. Just you and me. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!" she exclaimed with a insane smile that would have beaten Bumi's

Zuko narrowed his eyes as he stared at his sister "you're on" he replied never moving his gaze from her. He had a good shot at winning, he just knew by the way Azula just stood there looking like she was trying to stay in keep with what little sanity she had left that he had a chance at winning

Katara looked at her boyfriend in surprise, not noticing Azula's mouth curl into an evil smirk "what are you doing? Shes playing you. She knows she can't take us both so shes trying to separate us" she reasoned with him feeling now really worried about him….he wasn't really considering engaging in an Agni Kai with his sister was he? He could get hurt, she knew Azula wasn't one for mercy and would eventually do something horrible to him

"I know, but I can take her" he replied watching his sister closely as she stood there looking at them with the same creepy look she had since she saw them arrive. She was losing it. He knew that much

Katara gave a Azula a considering look before turning back to look at Zuko, trying to convince him out of battling with his ruthless sister alone "but even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula" she said giving Zuko a worried look…..it didn't go past Azula.

Zuko finally turned away from studying his sister and gave Katara a reassuring look "there's something off about her, I can't explain it but shes slipping" he said and gave his girl a serious look "this way, no one else has to get hurt" he added giving her a fleeting look….

He worried more about her than over himself. He didn't want Katara getting severely injured under the hands of Azula, he'd rather get hurt himself than see her injured or killed. Katara looked at him with a worried reluctant look before slowly nodding her head in reluctance…..yet they didn't realize Azula's analyzing looks studying the two bender's interactions

Her smirk broadens at the realization '_he fell for a repulsive water peasant? Oh this is just pathetic, Mai is gonna have his neck when she finds out'_ Azula thought mentally cackling at the thought of Zuko suffering under the hands of Mai….not after finishing him first herself.

~0.o.0~

Katara felt worried beyond belief as she watched Zuko and Azula positions themselves in the courtyard. Not far away, both siblings kneeled just about as ready to get it over with….Azula all the while imagining the horrible things and damages she would inflict on her brother…and then with a evil smirk….make him watch as she would burn the water wench alive

Zuko stood up and faced his sister. Getting in his stance, he was prepared for any attack she would make….Azula smiled wickedly at Zuko as she took off her robes "before I finish with you _brother_. I have to comment on the horrible choice you made of falling for that water peasant, can you seriously go that low?" her mocking eyes twinkling when she vaguely noticed an anger spark in his gold eyes

He never faltered his stance as he sneered at her "at least they're not afraid of me" he replied never moving his eyes away from her, it was a simple fact he knew Azula was horrible when it came to liking guys….it would always end with them cowering or running in fear

Azula didn't like the comment at all, she then spinned and thrust her palms out shooting blast of blue flames at Zuko. He brought his hands up jumping forward and brought his arms out in front of him bending tow large burst of flames. Blue and red waves of fire collide into eachother. Azula leaped forward on a jet of fire kicking forward; shooting a blast of flame at his direction, she didn't stop as she did three spinning kicks sending out waves of heat at Zuko.

Katara looked at the battle before her with worry flecking in her blue eyes. Zuko had been right about Azula, the princess' movements had been more awkward than accurate as she fought….at some point it might have settled Katara a little to know that perhaps Zuko could win the battle between his sister.

The whole place was illuminated with blue and red flame as the Agni Kai continued on, flames flickered on some of the buildings surrounding them. Even yet she had to dodge a few burst of flames that had nearly grazed her general direction

Zuko sent a blast of flame as he blocked out Azula's attack. They keep the stream of flames at each other, not thinking a minute of stopping such. Zuko's foot then started to slid and with a low grunt, he strengthened his stance and sent a stronger wave of fire at his sister. The fire simmered down as they slowly came to a stop…Azula looked back in shock to see the damage he had caused on the plaza….looking back at him with a scared and angry look

She charged forward and leapt upward on a blast of flame aiming it at Zuko. Just before the attack could be inflicted on him, he spinned around and thrust his palms out to the sides that creates a wall of flame blocking the blue flamed attack. Azula stayed crouched for a moment trying to catch her breath not being able to believe that her brother was gaining the upper hand in the battle. She gritted her teeth at the thought and put a determined look

Zuko then rears his fist back with his other fist placed in front of him, he then thrust his fist forward sending a large blazing ball of fire at Azula. She looked at the approaching attack with fear inking her gold eyes and it had nearly grazed her foot when she tried to dodge it.

Azula then thrust herself forward while in the air, rocketing over the ground on jets of fire from her hands and feet….she punched forward twice sending two large balls of flame at him. Zuko placed his hand near the ground and shoots a blast of fire, thrusting himself up in the air as he avoided her attack…he spinned in mid air swinging his heel downward creating an arc of flame blocking her next attack.

Katara watched in near awe by the display of Zuko's great skill. Watching as he made a flaming sphere around himself as he blocked out Azula's persistent attack. It was then Zuko made a spinning movement with his feet sending out heated waves of fire….Azula barely tripped dodging it until his next attack had sent her tumbling down harshly.

Azula gasped in pain by the contact even yet seething. She was not going to let her brother and that filthy wench beat her in a battle. Where was that peasant anyway? Oh yes, following her beloved's orders and keeping a safe distance not so far away from the battle scene. She stood up glaring at the young man not giving a care if her hair was a horrible mess or not, or if she resembled an angry animal baring its teeth at its enemy

Zuko let out a breath and looked at the mess of his sister waiting for her to attack "what. No lightning today? Afraid I'll re-direct it?" he mused trusting his palm forward as if emphasizing his point, he didn't notice Katara come out of her hiding spot and stood a few feet away from him

Azula practically snarled at such "I'LL SHOW YOU LIGHTNING!" she screeched and waved her fingers in arcs preparing to attack, her movements were far more dramatic and irregular than before. Zuko took a deep breath and entered his stance, ready for the lightning he knew would come. Azula felt all charged up and ready as she poised herself….she was then ready to shoot the mass of lightning at Zuko until her gold brown eyes flickered to the left as she noticed the water peasant not far few feet away

A smirk appeared on her face, just imagining how distraught and heartbroken her brother would be once seeing his oh so precious loved one burnt into a crisp as her life would be whisked away. And then he would join the wench as she would then kill him herself. Smiling wickedly at the idea she extended her arm toward the girl

Zuko was prepared for the lightning. What he wasn't prepared for was that his sister had aimed the lightning at his right, he turned his head and to his shock and despair….Azula had aimed the bolt at Katara. Not giving in a second thought, he ran in front of her...ready to re-direct the danger away from his girlfriend

Katara was frozen in fear to see that glowing bolt of lightning aiming right at her. She would have moved, but fear and shock had kept her from even moving a muscle. It was then she heard Zuko's voice "No!" he yelled getting in between her and the upcoming danger, everything seemed to be going in slow motion at the very moment

She watched in shock as he reached his hand out, absorbing the lightning in mid leap. The entire plaza being illuminated by the glowing light the lightning was giving off, Zuko tried aiming the bolt of energy somewhere else and luckily most of the electric energy was aimed off to the sky….unfortunately a small part of it had grazed his heart making him tumble down to the ground in a heap. His body lay twitching as energy surged through him, he let out a pained groan as he rolled on his back, clutching his chest

Katara's blue eyes swelled with tears at the sight, she felt frightened and distraught for his life "Zuko!" she cried out running toward him ignoring the maniacal laughter Azula was letting out. Azula was laughing like a maniac then, she hadn't expected him to do that…but it was oh so delightful to see the traitor in pain. It was then she noticed the peasant making her way toward him _'ah ah ah'_ she thought ready to get rid of the wench as she rushed toward her.

Katara ran toward Zuko who was struggling to get up and covered her hands with water preparing to heal him until a wave of blue fire cut her path as she jumped back. She could hear Azula cackling like a mad woman and turns her head to find Azula charging up another bolt of lightning, Katara reluctantly turned away from Zuko, running as she dodged the lightning being aimed at her. Breathing heavily, Zuko looked up trying to get back on his feet desperately as he watched Katara barely dodging the constant attacks of his deranged sister

She somersaulted away from the impact catching her breath, looking back to see Azula perching herself on the roof charging another bolt of lightning "I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu if you don't mind" she said making wide arcs of lightning as Katara got up and turned away before Azula shot the bolt at Katara, she summoned a wave of water blocking the attack and ran as Azula shot burst after burst of flame at her

Katara ran from the burning attacks and hid behind a pillar, barely dodging Azula's attack with her hands on her head. She cringes when a burst of flame hit the pillar she was hiding behind. She opens her eyes and stood up peeking behind the pillar to see what Azula was up to….she then noticed Zuko withering in pain, whimpering in dispair at the sight of his suffering form "Zuzu, you don't look so good" Azula mocked

It was then she shot a bolt of lightning at Katara's direction. Katara ran behind another pillar as the bolt made contact with the other pillar she had been hiding behind. She looked at the destroyed pillar with shock only to turn into determination as she turned away and summoned a large stream of water from the nearby fountain….bending the water towards the roof where she thought Azula still laid

Katara looked at the roof with confusion until she heard something behind her and ran when Azula shot a wave of fire at her; she summoned a large amount of water freezing it as she surfed across it, escaping Azula's fire. She surfed across the perimeter just out of reach of the flames pursuing her, Azula dropped to the ground rolling as she fire bended wildly at the peasant surfing on ice away from her reach

It was then Katara stumbled out of Azula's reach and breathing heavily she looked down the drain to find a great amount of water, she nearly smiled in relief as a plan formed as she then looked up and saw a metal chain looped around a handle. Katara stood up and went to grab it.

Azula growled as she noticed the little wench had gone out of plain sight; she headed for the pillars where she saw the peasant disappear off to and glared when she saw Katara appear from behind a pillar with a chain in her hand "There you are you, filthy peasant. I forgot to give you my welcome into the family" she spat at the girl clad in blue narrowing her gold brown eyes with hate

Katara put a determined look. She then send streams of water at Azula, the princess dodged them as she rolled across the drain, Katara slowly made her way to ward Azula as she tried to stand up. The princess then thrust her fingers forward ready to attack making Katara step back….just about ready to shoot the peasant, Katara thrust her arms upward bending water from the drain….engulfing them in water until she froze it…stopping the both from making any move

Azula darts her eyes around, looking surprised as she then looked back at girl in front of her. Katara looked down at the fingers pointed inches away from her face before breathing through her nose….the ice around her body melts as she proceeds to chain Azula's arm. Katara chained the princess's arms together, pulling her down as she ignored the weak struggling. Wrapping the chain around the gratings on the drain it was then she bended the water back into the drain leaving them gasping and coughing

Katara took hold of the chains, tightening them ignoring Azula who was left annoyed and outraged, making sure the chains are tightly held in place. Katara ran towards the direction where Zuko was left laying on the ground in agonizing pain. She kneeled besides him looking beyond too worried, Zuko groaned in pain as she carefully turned him so he could lay on his back….revealing his tunic to be burnt and revealing a harsh red burn over his stomach

She cradled his head looking down at him with frantic eyes brushing his hair away from his forehead…she turned away from him and bended water gloves around her hands and gently placed them on the wound. Zuko winces in pain at the contact trying to ignore the pain….it was then the water around her hands started glowing...doing its work in healing his wound

Zuko grimaced in discomfort before finally relaxing…no longer feeling the scorching pain the lightning had inflicted on him, he looked up at Katara with a faint smile on his face "thank you Katara" he whispered noticing the tears pricking in the corner of her shining blue eyes. Katara smiled in relief looking down at him before wrapping her arms around him careful not to put him in any discomfort and felt him wrap an arm around her waist

He placed a kiss on her neck as he felt her shaking slightly "I thought I lost you" she murmured against his neck and pulled away from him looking down at him as she ran her fingers through his disheveled dark hair. It was then they heard the quivering heaving breaths coming from Azula, she helped Zuko up his to feet and turn to see Azula – in all her pride and willpower – in a broken down fit. Bending fire out of her mouth as she trashed around in desperation

It was then they saw her land on her back as she had finally broke down in tears, screaming in a fit as big fat blobs of tears streamed down her cheeks as she whimpered with a quivering breath. Katara looked at the broken down princess with shock and looked up to see Zuko looking at his sister with an expressionless face.

O0o0

They had left Azula chained there for the guards that would come by to take her away; with Zuko's help…Katara had helped him through the halls of the palace taking him to his room. She looked around the large empty halls, feeling slightly intimidated to be in the Fire Lord's own home, she felt Zuko's hand tighten its grip on her waist...making her look up at him questioningly wondering if he was okay or not. She was met by a reassuring smile.

She would have been lying if she said she wasn't impressed by the immense size of Zuko's bedroom – to say the least it was larger than the one at the beach house – as she helped him sit down on his bed. Katara looked around the large room, taking in every detail before turning to face him….she blushed when she noticed he had been looking at her the whole while "nice room" she commented with a cheeky look making him let out a chuckle

It was then a shy young woman with short dark hair clad in brownish red clothes appeared by the entrance looking down at her feet "may I be of service, sir?" she asked quietly, not yet looking at either of the two teenagers...as if afraid she might provoke the known short tempered prince

Zuko then straightened up, ignoring the numb pain in his chest and looked at the maid "I've noticed there's a lack of servants and guards in the palace. What happened?" he asked not taking his eyes of the young woman

She kept her hands clasped in front of her "princess Azula thought them untrustworthy and didn't work hard enough, so she banished them from the palace sir" replied with a quiet voice "anything else sir?" she asked wetting her lips and looked at Katara for the first time questioningly

He held up his hand and look at the maid "that's enough, thank you" he replied. Katara felt a bit surprised to see Zuko acting like this, he spoke to the maid with a voice of authority and sternness…yet he didn't sound as harsh as he did back when he was pursuing Aang

The maid looked at Katara with curiosity "may I lead the miss on her way, sir?" she asked brushing a strand of short dark hair behind her ear

"She will stay as long as she likes" he replied giving Katara a fleeting look, it didn't go past the maid…simply by the way the two stood close to one another she knew something was going on. Yet she didn't question it as it wasn't her place to do such, Zuko gave the maid a look that told her to ask Katara if she needed anything

The maid lightly cleared her throat and looked at Katara's direction "would you be needing anything miss?" she asked with a polite voice

Katara swore she had never been spoken to with such politeness by any person of the fire nation – minus Zuko himself – and smiled lightly at the young woman "bandage wrapping will be fine thank you" she replied looking down at Zuko. The maid had been surprised by use of manners the water tribe girl had – clearly the told stories of water tribe being nothing but savages was a lie

She nodded her head and looked at Katara "right away miss" she replied before bowing respectively and left the two of them alone in his room. Katara then noticed Zuko looking at her with curiosity keeping his hands dangling between his lap

Katara then felt a pang of worry overcome her when the thought of her friends popped up into her mind "do you think the others are okay?" she asked running her fingers through his course dark hair

He placed his hands on her waist pulling her closer until she was nearly on his lap "I'm sure they kicked enough butt to last them a life time" he replied smiling up at her "and I'm well sure that Aang had defeated Ozai" he said noticing the look of worry cover her tan face

She looked down at him affectionately brushing his bangs away from his face "you should be resting" she caressing the scar on his face "you are, after all. The new Fire Lord who would be taking charge of a lot of responsibilities" she said with half lidded eyes as she placed a small kiss on his forehead not aware of the thoughtful look on his face

He looked at her for a moment "you're not going to leave, are you?" he asked looking up at her with near panic on his scarred face, she just giggled and placed a small peck on his lips leaving him well satisfied to know she wouldn't be doing such.

After the maid came back with what Katara had asked for, she left a set change of clothes for him and Katara on the couch placed in front of the bed before leaving. Katara had carefully bandaged Zuko and helped him change into his night wear….she was left a little unsure if she should change out of her normal clothes, she looked down at the red night dress before deciding to just put it on.

She stood there looking out at the large window looking at the comet that was now slowly disappearing off…toying with the small gold bow placed on the front she let out a sigh. A smile appeared on her tan face when she felt Zuko place a kiss on the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

><p>The morning was nice and calm with no war to worry about any longer, Zuko and Katara had received a message that The Avatar had finally defeated the Phoenix King Ozai, yet they were left in surprise and shock when they were told that Aang hadn't taken the man's life.<p>

Zuko was standing close to the large window in his bedroom while Katara sat on the large bed nearby, he had told her he was perfectly capable of putting on his own robe. She let out a sigh when he let out a moan of pain as he struggled to put his arm through one sleeve…she shook her head "your impossible" she murmured with a light smile on her face as she walked toward him

He sighed reluctantly as he let her help him with his robe "and yet your still here" he replied jokingly with a smile on his face, chuckling when he noticed her roll her eyes. She tied the belt around his waist and straightened out any wrinkles on his shoulders

She looked at him with a satisfied smile and took a step away from him "there" she said looking happy and looked up at him with a loving look….he tilted his head slightly coming close to her until the sound of someone clearing her throat broke them out of it, they turned to see Mai leaning against the doorway looking at them with an ugly look

She then turned to give Zuko an accusing look "I interrupting something?" she asked with the same monotone voice she always had

Zuko cleared his throat and looked down at Katara for a moment "not at all, Katara was just helping me out" he replied and yet the sour look on Mai's pale face didn't vanish as she looked at the two, he let out a sigh before looking down at Katara "can you give us a moment?" he asked looking at her

Katara emediantly nodded her head in response "of course" she replied and headed for the entrance, avoiding Mai's cold dagger look as she walked past her

Zuko looked at his ex girlfriend for a long moment as she looked back at him with a hurt and accusing look "we have to talk" he finally said secretly hoping she didn't have any of her daggers on her, Mai sneered at him and scoffed...her hands clenching into fist as as her nails clawing at her sleeves

"Of course we do" she said as she didn't move away from her spot by the entrance "so the moment I save your sorry butt, you go back with those Avatar sidekicks and replace me with some water tribe peasant" she accused never moving her gray eyes away from looking into his gold ones "I'm guessing you had a lot of fun on your little 'mission' with the bending Gaang squad am I right?" she asked sneering at him

He let out a long breath and took a careful step toward her "Mai try to understand" he calmly said looking for any sign that she might take action and throw a knife at him.

Katara was very sure the conversation with Mai wasn't at all pleasant, her thoughts were confirmed when she noticed Toph cringing every once in a while "like throwing knives so, that gloomy girl sure can throw some ugly words" Toph commented laying down on the grass as Suki – once again dressed in her Kyoshi uniform - and Katara sat on the stone bench placed close by "and by the looks of it, Zuko is already in a unpleasant mood" she added scratching her cheek

Suki looked at Toph with surprise and looked at the pond in front of them "do you think he's okay?" Katara wondered looking back at the certain direction

"Mai had already gotten out of jail with her uncle's help, I don't think she gonna risk going back there again by attacking the Fire Lord" Suki reasoned feeling a little weird by calling Zuko 'Fire Lord', she'd have to get used to it. Katara let out a sigh throwing a piece of bread at the turtle ducks mentally thinking how cute they were until the three girls noticed Mai walking out with a expressionless look on her pale face

When Mai noticed the three….her cold glare was directed only to Katara as she headed for the palace exit, never moving her gaze away from Katara. The three sat there in a bit uncomfortable silence once Mai had disappeared out of the sight, Katara looked down at her lap as the other two simply kept quiet….not exactly knowing what to say in this kind of moment "at least she didn't aim darts at ya" Toph said trying to lighten up the mood

"I'm sure she'll get over it" Suki offered with a meek smile

Katara just shrugged nonchalantly, tossing another piece of bread at the pond watching as the group of turtle ducks returned for the offered snack. A voice that wasn't Toph or Suki's then caught her attention "Lady Katara?" a shy voice called out, the three girls turned to see a maid standing alone…..looking unsure as to how to behave toward others from different nations

"Yes?" she replied standing up and looked at the older woman with a questioning look

The maid cleared her throat and looked down at her feet "Prince Zuko is asking for you, hes waiting for you in his chambers" she said not once lacking respect toward the water bender. Katara stood there for a moment before nodding her head

"Thank you" Katara replied dismissing the servant who quickly left to do undone chores in the palace

Toph looked impressed as she picked her ear "'Lady Katara'? Wow, they're already treating you like a queen, Sweetness" Toph commented smirking at her friend….Katara just rolled her eyes until she noticed Suki nodding in agreement "now go on, don't leave your Lord waiting" she added with a teasing grin on her pale face

Deciding not to let Zuko wait any longer, she left her friends as she walked off back inside the palace. Was Toph implying that she'd be the next Fire Lady? She'd have to be married to Zuko to be called that, and she needed another year to reach marrying age of course. She blushed at the thought of becoming Zuko's wife….it was something that had past her mind a couple of times back at the beach

She chewed on her bottom lip in thought as she walked through the halls. Not one servant looked at her rudely or disrespectfully as she passed by them.

Katara peeked in his room. Nothing looked wrecked or ruined, and there was no sign that knifes had been thrown. She then noticed he was standing on his previous spot by the large windows, already dressed and ready in his royal robes "somehow I expected to have a calm conversation with her" he said absently not once turning to look at her. His voice catching her by surprise "I tried to be calm and reasonable, but she just made things to hard to keep myself from being such" he added turning his head to the side looking at her

She slowly walked up to him placing a hand on his shoulder "I'm sure she'll understand sooner or later" she said quietly not saying anything else as he took the hand on his shoulder in his and pulled her closer….

He just let out a snort "pretty sure Aang took the revelation better than she did" he commented, rubbing his thumb in circles on the palm of her hand

"Of course we weren't there when Sokka explained the whole thing" Katara said looking up at him straightening out wrinkles on his robe "and he had been avoiding you and me mostly after" she added receiving a small 'hmm' in response. She decided that she needed to take his mind of his previous argument with Mai "you look handsome" she commented looking up at him

He just let out a short chuckle at the random comment and kissed the crown of her head "and you're going to be a great Fire lord" she added smiling at him proudly. He smiled at her before tilting his head and pressed his lips lightly against hers, he pulled her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck

They stayed in their passionate embrace a moment longer before Zuko gently pulled away; he then looked down at her with a suddenly shy and nervous look on his pale face "I've been thinking lately….if you'll stay here with me, help me rule the fire nation" he mused pressing his forehead gently against hers….the blush on his face still fairly noticeable "of course you could go back to the south pole whenever you like….to visit your family. Just saying I'd like for you to…"his ranting was cut off when she pecked his lips

She smiled up at him brushing a tiny strand of hair from his forehead "I wouldn't mind" she said playing with the small hairs on the nape of his neck careful not to mess up his top knot "wouldn't want to leave you here alone to stress out over the heavy responsibility of being Fire Lord" she added with a small giggle as he let out a chuckle

Zuko smiled affectionately at his girlfriend. Glad that she decided to stay here with him "I love you" he murmured against her lips gently

Katara's smile widen at the three words he said to her "I love you too" she replied before pressing her lips firmly against his.

* * *

><p>Zuko walked out through the corridor to find Aang sitting by the entrance, sitting there utter silence as he meditating. Zuko didn't know if the young monk would want to talk to him, seeing as the girl Aang loved was now in love with the Fire Lord to be. He looked down at the boy for a moment before deciding to give it a shot "I can't believe a year ago my purpose in life was hunting you down" he said noticing Aang look up at him with a calm look….that's a good sign "and now…." He trailed off awkwardly….<p>

Aang smiled at the older boy "we're friends" he finished almost as if reassuring Zuko. As much as he still loved Katara, her happiness was more important to him than anything….and if Zuko made her happy…he was okay with it. Took him a long while to let it go….but a long talk with previous Avatars brought him to peace

Zuko put a tiny smile on his pale face "yeah, friends" he agreed. He felt relief wash over him at this…by the looks of it…the Avatar was no longer resenting him or silently accusing him for taking away someone he loved, it was a great relief to see that they were back to good terms as well as friendship.

~o.0.o~

Katara was standing between the crowd as anticipated the coronation, she stood beside her father and Sokka until she saw Zuko appear. The crowd had then emediantly cheered as he stood there for a moment, they slowly silenced when he had raised his hand "please, the real hero is the Avatar" he said moving aside to reveal Aang stepping forward looking out at the cheering crowd "Today, this war is finally over. I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will" he continued with his speech

She looked at both Zuko and Aang with a proud look yet giving her boyfriend an affectionate look behind her proud expression. Hakoda noticed the quite hidden affection and thought she was aiming it at the Avatar, following where her eyes directed he was caught near surprise when she was looking at the Fire Lord to be instead. As far as he remembered, Katara had treated Zuko with hate and distrust before they were separated….of course he had been gone for most part to see any change between them

Hakoda looked at his son with a questioning look, the young man looked back with an arched eyebrow silently asking what was wrong….his father nodded his head at Katara's direction and then Sokka put an understanding look. Clearly the man had noticed the affection she was showing for Zuko 'I'll tell you later' he mouthed out

"The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace" he finished the crowd cheered on joyously…..Aang stood by his side with a content smile, Zuko searched through the crowd and smiled when he saw Katara within the crowd smiling proudly at them.

~o.0.o~

Katara walked along the palace garden as she looked at the exotic flowers and other beautiful plants. At some point, she wondered how could there be such lovely garden in a palace where people like Ozai and Azula used to live in. Everyone was surely celebrating the end of the war….as inside the grand palace room there was a party going on, Sokka and Toph had made bets that the celebration would most likely last weeks to no end…she had left outside for fresh air by then.

The maids had insisted that she'd wear a red gown instead of a blue for the party, taking the part of being the Fire Lord's lady…..a light silky long dress trailing close behind her as she walked….thin strapped dress with gold trimming and a fancy half ponytail hairdo with tiny little gold stub pins adorning her dark hair. It was enough to make anyone believe she was of Fire Nation. The only thing that kept her from being such was her tan skin and bright blue eyes…she felt more comfortable to see that her friends had dressed in red as well

She reminded herself that she'd have to get used to this, living in a palace and being treated with respect for being the Avatar's water bending master….and the expected Fire Lady by the upcoming year. Her father had sure been surprised to find out that she was dating Zuko, she knew darn well that Hakoda had had a serious conversation with the Fire Lord….and probably menaced him as well counting by the fearful look Zuko had.

To think that a year ago she had been living in a isolated little village of the South Pole, wishing for an adventure and someone to teach her how to master her element….and come to becoming part of assisting the Avatar and help ending the war and be the significant other of the current Fire Lord

"Still getting used to being treated like royalty?" a deep familiar voice almost caught her by surprise, she turned around to find Zuko walking up to her with a loving smile on his pale face. Instead of his Royal robes, he was wearing something similar to an armor, albeit looking like something suitable for a royal like him, his top knot and diadem was still in place….kind of surprising since Sokka and Toph had been previously jostling him out of pure blissful cheer

She played with the small gold rhinestones placed in the front of her dress just underneath her chest and smiled back at her significant other "I'm not royalty" she reminded him and saw him put a thoughtful look for a moment before a smirk had replaced the expression

He gather her in his warm embrace and nuzzled her slender neck "you will be" he whispered in her ear smirking when he received a shiver in response "how did we come to this?" he mused, kissing her cheek and placing a chaste kiss on her lips before looking her in the eyes. Marveling how her blue eyes shined under the sunset, it was times like this when he pondered on what he ever did to have her in his arms

"Kind of hard to believe huh" she said looking up at him as she clasped her hands behind his sturdy neck playing with the tiny hairs on the nape…..captivated by the fiery glow of his gold eyes under the sunset "that a year ago, we hated each other with a heated passion….at each others necks all the time and being against each other because of our beliefs" she murmured caressing the scar on his face…he leaned into her gentle touch "to a lovesick pair who are practically stuck together like glue, and would be expected to be married soon enough by the coming year" she finished smiling at the thought "that's some twisted love story" she added with a giggle as he let out an amused chuckle

Zuko let out another chuckle as he looked down at her with a loving look "call me cheesy if you must" he replied slowly gripping the silky fabric of her dress in his hand pulling her closer to him "but its our twisted love story" he added laughing quietly as she let out a small laugh

She let out a content sigh relishing the warmth radiating from his large form "I love you" she murmured and received a content growl in response. He titled his head and pressed his lips against hers, she let out a content sigh as she caressed his jaw. He ran his fingers through her long hair gripping it lightly...as he pryed her lips open with his tongue. She shuddered when he let out warm breath through their connected lips...both in their own little world ignoring whoever might walk by and see them.

They stayed there in their passionate embrace under the glowing sunset.

* * *

><p>THREE YEARS LATER<p>

It was a warm peaceful morning in the Fire Nation, silent and calm as the first rays of sunrise peeked over houses and sakura trees. Birds chirping happily on their spots in trees tending to nest or their young. A young man of age twenty came walking out onto the balcony only dressed in a pair of red gold trimmed sleeping pants….his broad chest bared to the fresh morning air

Zuko ran his fingers through his dark longish hair looking out at his kingdom with a peaceful look on his pale face…..everything all settled down with no war to have anyone worry about any lost lives. No need to fight others to survive. He let out a content sigh not noticing the slim figure of a young woman behind him standing by the entrance "still proving the 'I rise with the sun' theory?" a gentle voice teased, Zuko turned around and smiled at the sight of his wife Katara standing there dressed in a powdery blue nightgown….blue eyes shining happily as they looked back at him

He looked at her for a moment and opened his arm wide invitingly "c'mere" he said smiling even yet as she walked up to him with no hesitation, it had past two years since their marriage…in all thought it took him a while to convince Hakoda to accept the desire that he wanted her hand in marriage when she reached the age sixteen, it was difficult at first considering the nobles were still accustomed to the previous laws….that he had to marry a noble woman instead of a girl from the Southern water tribe. A menacing threat of lose of status had them forget everything

Zuko tilted his head and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, it was then he noticed the purple clad bundle resting in her arms….their second born Princess Jia slept peacefully in her mother's protective embrace, he was sure that their first born. Two year old Prince Kuzon. Was still resting as well in his chambers, hugging that stuffed polar bear dog he loved closely.

Young Kuzon came into their lives just a few months after their wedding, Zuko was unsure of the idea of conceiving a child just months after the had married….Katara thought otherwise…she wanted a child just as much as their kingdom wanted an heir to the throne. The little Prince was almost a replica of his father if it hadn't been for the dark brown hair and a shade darker than his pale skin….yet he had inherited the same gold eyes from Zuko.

Looking down at the infant currently resting in his wife's arms….he smiled tenderly at the small baby, her skin was a shade lighter than her mother's and darker than his, she had a head full of dark brown hair that was almost always clipped with a tiny gold bow, and both parents knew that she had bright blue eyes underneath those closed eyelids

He gently ran a thumb over his daughter's tiny forehead, the sudden warmth of his skin stirring the baby awake. Jia scrunched her tiny button nose and with a tiny yawn, she slowly opened her eyes blinking rapidly for a moment adjusting to the sudden brightness….she looked up at the familiar figures of her parents before reaching up and grabbed hold of his thumb giving them a gummy smile…..both parents smiled affectionately at the small infant enjoying the peaceful morning.

結束

(The end)


End file.
